Copyright Notice:

	All characters and concepts that pertain to Ah! My Goddess are
copyrighted by Kosuke Fujishima.  The characters and concepts that 
pertain to Stepping Into Keiichi (Mika, Topper, and the like) are
copyrighted by b. b. brittain, 1997.  Copyrighted material not owned
by the author of this FanFiction story is used for entertainment 
purposes and Anime praisement only.  I.E. don't sue me, please? ^_^

	* * *


	Stepping into Keiichi
	by
	b. b. brittain

	An Ah! My Goddess FanFiction Story


	* Chapter 3 *


	Mika and Topper were on their second pot of tea, the early 
evening skies growing dark.  The two had driven over to a teahouse 
about 5 minutes from the temple set, talking since they reached 
Mika's car without so much a pause.  As soon as Topper finished his 
summarized life story, he reached over to fill his cup with more tea.

	"Okay...so let me see if I got this all straight." Mika said, 
pouring another cup of tea for herself.

	Topper nodded, and looked at her from the other side of the 
table they were sitting at, sipping slowly from his cup.  "Go for it."

	"Your name is Patrick Thompson."

	"My nickname's Topper."

	"You're 18, not 32."

	"Nineteen in September."

	"You go to college in Oregon, in the United States."

	"Actually, Washington state.  University of Washington.  Oregon 
is where my parents live."

	"And...you're from 'The Real World', not this world, which is 
really a bunch of drawn pictures."

	"We usually call the drawn pictures Anime."

	Mika shook her head, the laughter within her unable to hold 
itself.  "What drug have you been taking??"

	Topper shrugged, taking another sip from his tea.  "Okay, let's 
switch gears then.  Tell me about yourself."

	Mika slowly calmed down, and thought for a moment.  "Sure, 
I'll bite.  Where do you want me to start?"

	Topper shrugged.  "Where were you born?"

	"Well, I was born in Kyoto, and moved to Tokyo a few years 
after.  My parents died a few years later in a car accident."

	"Sorry..." Topper said quietly.

	Mika shook her head.  "It's okay.  I stayed with my aunt in 
Kobe after that.  I went to high school, and started college last 
year.  So..."  she looked ready to explode again, and added in, "I'm 
18, just like you."  She started into giggles.

	Topper pursed his lips.  "I'm not going to convince you, am 
I."

	Mika shook her head, giggling all the more.  "Nope." She managed 
to say.

	Topper sighed, sipping from his cup again.  Mika's giggling 
died down, and she looked as if she was thinking about something.

	"What?"

	Mika hrmed.  "Well...there's something that I never figured 
would come from you."

	"Oh?"

	Mika nodded slowly.  "Yeah.  The amount of..." She looked 
down.  "It was..." she fumbled for the words to explain it, but looked 
up and smiled instead.  "Um...nope, you won't convince me."

	Topper hrmed.  "Well...that's that then."  He set down his 
cup.  "We have a long day tomorrow.  And I need to rehearse my lines."

	Mika mmmed in agreement.  "Well, I've got my copy in the car...
we could rehearse together?"

	Topper chuckled.  "That might lead to something, wouldn't it?"  
He scooted over in his chair quickly before he was thwapped.  
"Seriously though...I'd love to."

	Mika nodded and stood herself, heading for her car.  "Mika?" 
Topper asked, as she picked up her purse.

	"Yeah?"

	"What is your major?"

	Mika smiled a little.  "I was thinking pre-med." She smiled a 
bit more.  "And you?"

	Topper shrugged.  "I don't know, really.  Nothing really appeals 
to me, so I'm undeclared right now."  He thought for a moment 
before continuing.  "I always thought I'd find something when I got 
to college, but I guess I'm still looking."  He sighed a bit, and 
looked down into his teacup.

	Mika regarded Topper for a moment.  She opened her mouth and 
thought to say something, but just nodded slowly instead and made her 
way to her car.

	* * *

	As Mika and Topper finished rehearsing through the low din of 
the cafe, Topper sat back in his chair.  "Mika?"

	Mika was still reading a few lines.  "Yeah?" she said in a 
mumble.

	"How is Megumi off-camera?"

	Mika looked up and chuckled.  "Silly, you mean Miss Tikatsu.  
Tikatsu Lina.  What do you mean?"

	"I mean, how is she, is she nice, all that sort."

	Mika set down her script, and looked at Topper curiously.  
"Why are you asking me about her?  You should know better than me."  
Topper was about to reply when Mika rolled her eyes and held up her 
hands.  "Oh, riiight...that 'Real World' thing again, neh?"

	Topper nodded.  "Humor me."

	Mika just shook her head, a small smile appearing on her lips.  
"Well...from what I heard, you've known her for about...well, more than 
twenty years now?  Really long history."

	Topper nodded slowly, taking it all in. /Longer than Mika and 
I've been alive...now that's a humbling thought.../

	"I've heard some things about you two together...but I guess 
they're false, hmm?"  Mika's small smile turned into a full smirk.

	Topper blinked.  "I told you, I'm not Katawa.  If he and Lina 
had something, well..." he shrugged.  "I'm not going to run around 
with another guy's girl."

	Mika chuckled.  "Okay, okay."

	"Which reminds me..."

	"Hmm?"

	"I've been thinking...back at the temple.  It's in a real 
demolished state."

	Mika nodded, as she picked up her script.  "It's supposed to 
be, that's how the scene's supposed to look, come tomorrow."  She 
started to glance again at her lines.

	Topper cocked his head to the side.  "Er...usually, when a 
house or something is wrecked in movies, they film most of the 
scenes before wrecking the house."

	Mika kept looking through her lines, and just muttered, "Oh, 
it's done with magick." after a few seconds.

	Topper chuckled, as he waved over a waitress for a soda.  
"What, they bring in a bunch of technicians from ILM?"

	Mika muttered after finishing one line in her head, 
"Magick, Yoshi, magick."

	Topper placed his order, and looked at Mika with a smirk 
as the waitress left.  "Sure sure, likely story."

	Mika looked up after reading through the scene she was on.  
"Okay... this is how it works; we receive a licence to use magick 
for a given series.  We have to sign contracts for usage of the 
magick, and once cameras start rolling, we're able to use it.  When 
the cameras stop, we lose them.  Now hush, I'm reading our first 
scene for tomorrow!"  With that, she dove into another series of lines.

	As Topper listened to Mika, his eyes began to grow wider.  
/Magick...?  You've got to be kidding me.../  His soda was slid 
under him, and he nodded to the waitress, before asking Mika, "So...
how do you get the licences, and where?"

	Mika finished the end of a page, and as she flipped to the 
next, she mumbled, "Studio lawyers...Heaven..." she continued on 
reading.

	Topper started to choke on his soda as she said that, and after 
a fit of coughing, he just chuckled and shook his head.  /Lawyers...?  
Heaven...?  Figures.../  He regarded Mika for a few moments, before 
looking outside to give that last bit some contemplation.

	* * *

	Topper awoke in his adopted apartment the next day.  He looked 
over to his alarm, which read 5:59.  He hated that.  He rolled over 
and closed his eyes, when the clocked turned to 6:00, and the alarm 
went off.  He hated that even more.

	Taking a moment to groan to himself, he slapped the snooze 
button and rolled over, covering his head with his pillow.  He wasn't 
a morning person, and having to wake up this early in the morning did 
not suit him.  But as he tried to grasp at the dream that was 
already beginning to fade within his mind, the alarm perked up again, 
reading 6:09.  /Damn the gods.../ he thought, and slowly sat up.

	He slid out of bed, and walked over to the bathroom.  Walking 
into the bathing room, he glanced over at the furo and chuckled to 
himself. /I forgot, no showers.  I always wanted to try one of these 
things.../ He turned on the hot water to fill up the tub, before 
going over next to the sink.  He stripped down and walked over to a 
stool, right beside a bucket and water spout.  Filling up the 
bucket, he started to wash and soap himself up.  

	After washing himself down with cold water, Topper walked over 
and slipped into the warm waters of the tub.  He sighed softly, 
letting the waters seep into every fibre of his body.  It was almost 
too easy to fall back asleep when his mind went mellow; he almost 
wished he could have a cold shower, since that was his usual 
preference to wake up in the morning.  But his mind held up and he 
slowly stood and got out of the tub.

	After the bath, he dried himself off and wrapped a towel around 
himself, going towards the basin to shave.  But as he looked into 
the mirror, he noticed that Yoshio's image didn't have the 5 o'clock 
shadow that Topper usually had after a day of not shaving.  /I didn't 
shave yesterday either...well, that's a hidden gift/, he thought with a 
small smile, and reached for the toothbrush hung on a holder just 
above the sink.

	Topper pulled toothbrush from the holder, and started to put 
toothpaste on it.  But as he brought it up to his mouth, and looked 
at the image staring back at him in the mirror, he tossed it in the 
nearby trashcan and scrunched up his face.

	/Note to self, buy a new toothbrush.  Using someone 
else's toothbrush...ick!/ He smiled lopsidedly to himself, and thought 
for a moment.  On a hunch, he reached down to look through the 
drawers under the sink, and sure enough, he found a new toothbrush 
still in it's wrapper.  He pulled off the wrapper and tossed it 
into the trashcan, and after putting some toothpaste on it, he started 
to brush his teeth. /Clothes are one thing, but not toothbrushes.  
Wait.../ He looked down to his towel and hrmed slightly.  /New note 
to self, buy some new boxers at least./

	After he finished with brushing, he walked over into the 
bedroom and reluctantly scrounged and put on a new set of boxers.  
After finding and slipping on a set of clothes he liked in his 
closet, he walked out to the living room.  Picking up his keys and 
script, he went out the door at twenty to seven.  A fifteen or so 
minute trip later through the empty streets deposited him by the 
temple lot, where the day's shoots were to be held.

	Topped jumped out of the car, and scooted over to the makeup 
trailer right beside.  As he was put into the makeup chair, he noticed 
Mika was just finishing up in the other chair and gave a sleepy smile 
in greeting.

	"Morning, Yoshi.  Got here okay, hmm?" she said, as the makeup 
person started to touch up her eyes with some eye liner.

	Topper just grunted and nodded, as another makeup person 
started to apply makeup to him.  Mika just smiled and let the people 
around them do their job.

	About five minutes later, Mika hopped out of the chair, Topper 
following a few minutes later.  The set was a mess of cameras, as 
Mika walked over to the director, Topper making sure not to trip over 
any of the cables that were strewn about.  He whistled slightly at 
the orderly mess all about the grounds. /How they can make sense of 
something like this, I'll never know.../

	Topper decided to go by a mess of chairs that affored a good 
vantage point to the entrance of the temple.  He sat down, and just 
took in the action.  Someone was yelling for a sound check on a 
microphone somewhere, a few others were running with some electronics 
towards the back of the temple.  He was wondering when things were 
going to finally start, when a voice boomed out over the loudspeakers 
nestled throughout the lot, "Places please!"

	Topper leaned back in his chair, as crews scurried out of sight 
of the cameras.  Mika took position at the entrance of the temple, 
and Topper gazed towards her with interest.  /Magick, hmm?  This I 
gotta see./  The loudspeakers then roared with, "Cameras are 
rolling...!"  That was when Topper noticed something peculiar.

	Mika's body slowly pulsed with a blue light, swirling close 
about her body.  It was only for a few seconds, but Topper took note 
of it with piqued interest.  He was sure that she looked a little 
bit different than before, but at the distance he was at, he 
couldn't tell exactly what was different.  As the glow died down, 
Topper clucked his tongue. "Magick..." he whispered to himself.  
The director then yelled out, "Action!"

	The scene played out was that of Belldandy reshaping the temple 
new once again, a scene Topper must have seen dozens of times by now.  
But seeing it in this new angle, was an overpowering event; as though 
he was watching it for the first time again.  And the sense that it 
was happening in front of him, like it was very much real...it blew 
his mind away.

	The early morning scene came to a close almost as quickly as 
it started, giving Topper little chance to dwell upon it, or even 
listen to the lines spoken.  The house by the time he realized it, 
was as new as the day it was built, a result of Mika's spell.  The 
director yelled, "Cut!" and Topper once again trained his eyes 
towards Mika.  Her form seemed to obscure itself slightly, as if 
someone put a warped piece of glass in front of his eyes, and then 
she shifted back to normal.  He tilted his head from side to side in 
a semi-achknowledgement. /So, that was magick.../ he thought in 
reluctance.

	There was a few minutes before the next scene to take place, 
so Topper decided to walk over to the shoot board, which was located 
right next to the makeup trailer.  He hadn't gotten a good glance of 
the day's events, so he looked down the times in which he was to do 
certain scenes with Mika.  As he figured, things were a little tight, 
from the previous two days' mishaps and his bump on the head.  It 
looked like they might be going on until midnight or later tonight. 
/Yeesh, and only the third day in, too...I wonder what it's going to 
be like in a fortnight?/

	But something else Topper noted was nestled between a bit of 
that day's day shoots and the night shoots, was the scene in which 
Megumi was to be introduced.  That brought up a concern within Topper.  
/I haven't even seen Lina yet...I wonder where she is?/

	The thought disappeared quickly, as Topper was called over for 
the next scene.  Things seemed to flow together that day, as scenes 
got marked off one by one, and all sliding into schedule neatly and on 
time.  Topper felt himself to be more at ease in playing Keiichi.  The 
first few scenes still had him tense at the start, but as time passed, 
so did his nerves, and he settled into a groove.

	Topper had never really considered acting in any standpoint, 
before then.  Sure, he went to the movies every other week or so, but 
never thought much of the actors behind it.  It never hit him as much 
as when he first botched a line in one take, and they had to start 
again.  It was a humbling experience of sorts; one messed up line 
could ruin the work of a lot of various people in the previous few 
minutes.  It happened a few times that day, and Topper came to realize 
that it wasn't as simple as he thought it would be.  

	As he walked towards the next scene on the docket, Topper 
noticed Mika talking to one of the stage hands.  His mind started to 
reflect on the preparation that she must have went through getting the 
part.  The auditioning, the practicing, the hectic schedule that was to 
be kept in order to finish production on time...and there he was, 
just tossed into Keiichi's role without a seeming thought.

	He got onto position on the set, and nodded to himself. /Best 
thing I can do is to do the best I can.  And make sure I don't screw 
up.../ His empassioned nature at the hands of these thoughts carried 
him as the director yelled, "Action!"

	Keiichi had accidentally stumbled on a can, and knocked him 
and Belldandy to the floor.  They had picked up the scene with Mika 
and Topper looking at each other on the floor.  It was rather easy 
being embarrased in the situation; Topper knew he was blushing, the 
way Mika looked into his eyes.  /Those eyes.../ he thought.

	He gulped once, before muttering, "Belldandy..."

	Mika bounced towards him happily, asking "What can I do for 
you?"

	Topper gulped again, and looked back into her eyes.  "Um..." 
was all he could say.  For a split second, he thought he just messed 
up that scene, but then he remembered his reaction was the same as 
Keiichi's.  He was about to giggle at that, when a door was 
suddenly shoved open.  His eyes went wide and he spun his head about.

	"Who's there?" he called out, when he noticed Lina walking in 
with bags at her feet.

	"Oops!  Bad timing!" Lina said quickly, smiling weakly and 
rubbing the back of her head.

	/You're telling me.../ Topper quickly said to himself, before 
saying aloud, "Megumi!  W..W..What're you doing here?!"

	Lina started to smile impishly, as an 'Ah...!' came from her 
lips.

	Topper's eyes went wider as he looked at Lina blankly.  "Oh!  
No!  I can explain this!"  He stood and laughed weakly, rubbing the 
back of his head.

	Lina picked up her bag, and started to walk over.  "Please 
excuse the interruption." she said, and as she reached Topper, she 
put a hand on his shoulder, putting her head down.

	"Wow, Keiichi and a woman?  And to top it off, you're living 
with a foreigner? That's pretty cool!" she patted his shoulder.

	/There has to be irony in this.../ Topper thought to 
himself, before replying, "Listen, you..."

	Lina smiled brightly and said, "I'll be staying here as of 
today."

	"Staying here?!"

	Mika broke in at this point, asking Topper, "Who is our 
guest?"

	"My little sister, Megumi."

	Lina waved a finger and smiled knowingly.  "Oh...No need to 
worry, I get the picture.  I won't get in your way.  At any rate, 
it'll really help me out if you let me stay here for a week or two, 
because I gotta find an apartment somewhere around here."

	Topper looked at Lina blankly.  "Why?"

	Lina's brows furrowed slightly.  "College! College!  Starting 
in April!"

	Topper blinked.  "College?!  Are you that old already?"  A 
thought passed in his mind though.  /But if she's 34 like Yoshio...
wow.../

	Lina replied sternly, "Come on!  We're only a year 
apart."

	"But anyways, how on Earth did you know I was here?"

	"When I went to your dorm, they told me that you moved out, so 
I asked for the address and found my way here."

	Topper smiled weakly at that.  Lina continued on.  "Actually, 
I was thinking of asking our uncle to le me stay at his place, but 
this place is spacious and quiet."

	She glanced around briefly.  "And it'll be dangerous for me 
to live by myself right away.  So if I'm with you, I should be 
safe!" she clasped her hands together and smiled brightly at Topper.

	Topper just rolled his eyes upwards.  "I'm not safe at 
all!" he muttered.  He closed his eyes and thought for a moment, 
replaying the voiceover of Keiichi's thoughts along with some of his 
own.  /Really sucks to be Keiichi...yeesh.../

	At that moment, Lina leaned in and whispered into his ear, 
"Don't worry!  I won't tell Mom that you two are living together."

	Topper blinked, and looked at Lina with a frown.  "What're 
you talking about?! This is, you see..."

	Lina cut in, "This is...what?!  What?  Hey!  What?  You don't 
have to hide it from me!"

	Mika cut in with her lines next.  "Well, it looks like the 
three of us can live happily together for a while." a smile 
acompanying her words.

	Lina turned to Mika and grinned.  "You're so generous.  It's 
like you're a goddess or something!"

	Topper made a facefault, as Belldandy replied to Lina, "Oh?  
Why, I AM a g..."

	Topper broke in, cupping a hand around Mika's mouth.  With a 
weak grin, he replied for her, "Well, looks like that's that.  And, 
as long as you're here, I'll take care of you."

	Lina grinned at Topper.  "You get along well, eh?  Oh!  I'm 
Keiichi's sister, Morisato Megumi.  Pleased to meet you!" She 
reached out a hand towards Mika.

	"My name is Belldandy.  Pleased to meet you." she shook the 
proffered hand, as Topper looked on, rubbing the back of his head 
once more.

	"Oh, I almost forgot!"  Lina reached around to her backpack, 
pulling out an envelope.  She shoved it towards Topper. "Here!"

	"What's this?"

	"Mom gave it to me for living expenses, while I'm away from 
home.  You can have it, Keiichi."

	Topper took out the money, and pulled it close to him.  
Tears seemed to come from his eyes, as he said "Saved!  Looks like 
we can survive for a while!" His mind drifted again on an absent 
thought.  /How many kids back home would love to cry on demand like 
this.../

	Mika grinned.  "That's terrific, Keiichi."

	"Yo!  Morisato!"  The door opened to reveal Tamiya and the 
dorm extras standing outside.  "We came here to celebrate your moving 
in!"

	The group looked over to the side entrance, and started to walk 
over.  Topper was suppressing the thought of Tamiya's high voice which 
was on the verge of throwing him into a gigglefest, and was actually 
doing a good job.  He stepped through the open door, and stopped right 
in front of Tamiya.

	Immediately Tamiya grabbed Topper by the shirt, which made 
Topper suddenly wash over with fear.  He wasn't usually prone to 
having someone being angry at him, unless it was his parents, so his 
composure was on par for what was happening in the scene.  Tamiya was 
just finishing his line and Topper stuttered out, "No!  She's..."

	But he never got to finish it, as Tamiya picked him up almost 
effortlessly, and put him into a standard backbreaker over his neck.  
"Why you!  You've got your mits on another girl when you had such a 
cute one already?"  Topper's mind was reeling, though he wasn't 
being necessarily hurt that bad by Tamiya's motions. /My line...
what is...my...line.../

	Whether through sudden clarity, or the fact that the hundreds 
of times he watched this scene finally cycled into his brain, he 
sputtered out, "S...she's my sister!  Honest!"

	Tamiya stopped his motions, and looked at Lina.  "Oh!  Why 
didn't you say so?"

	Lina smiled and said to Tamiya, "If you're Keiichi's upper 
classmate, that means you'll be my upper classmate too.  I'm 
Morisato Keiichi's sister, Megumi!  I'll be attending Nekomi Tech 
starting this Spring!"

	With Topper stretched out on his back still, Tamiya answered 
happily, "Oh!  Is that so?  Then you'll sign up for Auto Club, 
right?"

	Lina's worry showed by the sweatdrop and her voice.  "I...
I'll think about it."  Tamiya looked a little put out.

	Topper said with strain, "Why you...when you say �college', do 
you mean you applied to Nekomi?!"

	Lina answered simply, "Yeah."

	Topper groaned, which turned into more than that as Tamiya 
shoved him off his shoulders, and Topper slumped to the ground.  
Ootaki chimed in finally with,  "Well then, to celebrate Morisato's 
moving in, and Megumi's starting school, let's PARTY!"

	Everyone chimed in their agreement, while Topper, who finally 
got back on his feet and stood beside Belldandy, had a dismayed look 
to his face.  "Just when we had time for the two of us, alone!" he 
muttered.

	Tamiya screamed from amidst the group, "Yo, Morisato!  Come 
over here and drink up!"  Topper just hung his head down.  His 
thoughts were of impending doom when he suddenly heard, "Cut!  
Print!  Dinner break!" And he looked up to realize the scene was 
over.

	As soon as the people started to disperse, Lina bounded over 
to where Topper was, and plastered herself to his arm.  She smiled 
and said, "Let's go to Escapades for dinner, okay? We haven't been 
there in ages!"

	Topper, who was starting to move towards Mika, suddenly got 
pulled back as his arm was clasped tight by Lina.  He looked back 
to Lina and blinked. "But...I was going to..."

	Lina shook her head, cutting him off. "Noooo buts! You're 
coming with me and that's that!"  With that, she started to pull 
him towards her car.  Topper, with Lina giving a death-grip to 
his arm, followed along, the look of a caged animal appearing on 
his face.

	Mika, who was starting for where the caterers set up 
their tables, glanced at the two and shook her head. /Not seeing 
each other, huh?  I guess he didn't change as much as I 
thought/.  She frowned as she made her way to the makeup trailer.

	* * *

	As they drove towards the restaurant, Lina started into a 
conversation.  "What's this about a bump on the head?"

	Topper, staring out of the side window since they left, turned 
slightly and said, "Oh...just got knocked out for a few minutes when 
I hit a wall.  It's nothing big."

	Lina shook her head.  "Well, I hope not.  At least you're okay 
now, right?"  She glanced at him, though he didn't notice the bit of 
concern on her features.

	Topper nodded, still glancing at the window, looking as the 
city flew past.  "Yeah...for the most part."

	Lina didn't resume the conversation, but a few minutes later, 
she pulled in front of what turned out to be Escapades.  She got out 
of the car and nodded to a valet, whom started for the car.  Topper 
got out, and as Lina circled the car, they both walked inside.

	Topper noted the small line of people at the entrance, but 
Lina just walked briskly past them, Topper following her lead.  She 
walked up to the podium, waiting for the maitre'd to turn around 
from addressing a waiter.  She glanced down to his nametag as she 
spoke.  "If you would be so kind as to get Mister Katawa and 
myself a table...Tashi...we would appreciate it."

	The maitre'd looked at Lina for a moment with mild curiosity, 
but as he turned his head towards Topper his eyes started to go wide.  
"Oh, of course!  Please, follow me."  He whipped out two menus, and 
started into the throng of tables.

	The crowds waiting for a table themselves started to whisper 
to themselves, and Topper blinked at the sudden attention at himself, 
though he followed Lina and Tashi. /Wow...that must be the power of 
being a star.../ he thought.  Soon, they arrived to their table, 
Topper sitting down, and Lina being helped into her seat by Tashi.  
Tashi then rushed over into the back for some assistance.

	As she set down her purse, Lina looked over to Topper and 
smiled.  "When was the last time we came here?"

	Topper shook his head, reaching for his menu.  "I...I'm not 
sure, Lina." he said, before opening his menu.  He hoped calling her 
by her first name would be something Katawa did.  It seemed more 
prudent than Tikatsu.

	Lina leaned back in her chair and reached for her own menu. 
She said as she opened it up, "Hmm...oh, wait.  About two years 
ago, after you finished making that movie.  What was that called..." 
she said, giving Topper the impression his assumption was correct.

	Topper gave an inward sigh, as he started into reading the 
menu.  He said over the top of his menu, "Uh...one of those things, 
yeah..." he muttered. /If she goes any deeper, I'm done for.../

	Lina shook her head, as she started to look down the menu.  
"No, that's not it...it'll come to me sooner or later."  At that 
moment, the waiter arrived, along with two other helpers who poured 
water into Topper's and Lina's glasses.

	The waiter turned to the both of them before speaking.  "It is 
an honour to have you here again, Mister Katawa.  I see you brought 
Miss Tikatsu with you this evening.  It is a pleasure to have you here 
as well.  I will be your waiter this evening.  My name is Kitso."  
All that with a well-practiced smile.

	Lina just waved a hand at him, dismissing the formalities.  
"What're the specials today?"

	Kitso listed off the specials, Lina listening for anything she 
might like.  Topper on the other hand was thinking behind the veil of 
his menu. /Cool as a cucumber, Topper...don't be too suspicious.  I 
hope all she's expecting is dinner...not that she doesn't look good.  
But...what am I THINKING?!/

	Lina picked out an entree she liked and a bottle of wine, 
before Kitso turned to Topper.  Topper peeked up and blinked, saying 
the first thing that came to mind. "Er...steak and lobster?"

	Kitso nodded, and went to place their orders.  Lina gave 
Topper a weird look however.  "When did you start going for steak and 
lobster?"  She added in with a smirk, "Isn't that what I'm supposed to 
order?" She waggled her eyebrows, which made Topper start to sweat, a 
sweatdrop forming about his head.

	Thankfully, Kitso returned and brought out the bottle of wine 
at that moment, pouring two glasses for the couple.  Topper took his 
glass thankfully, and Lina did the same.  She raised up her glass and 
said, "To another project, and another set of sleepless nights!"  
She winked and downed the glass.

	Topper's glass fell almost as fast as his jaw did.  
Unfortunately, his jaw didn't make a mess of his jeans like the 
glass did.  Topper stood up and cursed under his breath, Lina on the 
verge of laughing hysterically.  Topper smiled faintly towards her, 
and moved from the table, in search of the bathroom.

	When Topper returned to the table from cleaning himself up, 
their dinners were already laid out on the table.  Lina was eating 
what looked to be some sort of fish entree, while his steak and 
lobster sat on his side of the table.  He sat down, and promptly 
dug in, hoping the food would diminish the chatting.  What wishful 
thinking, at least.

	"So, my agent called me on the phone, during the last day of 
my shoot."  She said, after taking a bite full of fish.  "The 
producers wanted to know if I was available for this Ah! My Goddess 
gig.  Funny, I was about to call her to ask what it'd take to get on 
this project.  I dunno about you, but I think there's gotta be some 
irony to it, somewhere."  She laughed, before reaching over to down 
half her glass of wine.

	/Funny you should say that.../ Topper thought, as he cut into 
his steak.  "So uh...why were you late coming in today?" he said, 
trying to keep the conversation on her.

	Lina nodded, as she wiped her mouth with her napkin. "Well, I 
was coming back from location on that movie I was doing in China, and 
my flight got held up.  I'm surprised I made it on for my scene 
today!  Luckily I got a cheuffer this time who knew how to drive!" 
She laughed again, and poked her fish with her fork for another bite.

	Topper nodded slowly, trying to map his conversation 
carefully.  "You got the scripts in China then?"

	"Yeah, I had to gloss over them on the plane.  Wasn't hard, 
really.  I read the books, when I heard this project was going to go 
into production.  I like Megumi.  Reminds me of myself when I was that 
age."  Her smile grew larger, as she said, "Hey, remember those days?  
After we graduated college?  Man, talk about wild..."

	Topper just smiled weakly, of course not knowing a thing of 
those days.  "Uh...yeah.  Wild..." He shoved some lobster meat into 
his mouth.

	Lina sighed softly, her eyes glazing over to remember years 
past.  "Let's see...you got an apartment down in Tokyo, still 
bright-eyed and eager to get any part that crossed your doorstep.  
Me, I did tons of location shoots...I'm surprised I remember 
anything then.  Parties all night, somewhere new almost every 
month..." She shook her head slightly and smiled wanly.

	Topper chuckled as he saw fit to, reaching over to sip from 
his wine glass.  "Yeah...parties..."

	"I wonder what happened to the gang.  Tominoue, Nachiko, 
Yeiko..."

	Topper fumbled slightly with his fork and knife, and just 
shrugged.  "I...I dunno, Lina.  I haven't...er, kept in touch."

	Lina nodded slowly, thinking.  "I got a letter from Onimaru, 
some time in February.  She had twins, did you know that?  Our shy 
Onimaru, bagging a hunk or from what she said at least, and now 
twins..." She chuckled and shook her head.

	Topper nodded slowly, and smiled a little bit.  "Twins...who 
would have thought..." he kept his eyes down towards his plate, 
cutting up his steak more.

	Lina downed the rest of her glass, and poured herself another.  
She took a sip, and leaned back into her chair.  "Eleven years now, 
right Katawa?  We've been in this gig for eleven years..." She 
sighed slightly, and shook her head.  "Of course, we knew we were 
gonna hit it big when we were kids..."

	Topper slowly looked up, his interest starting to pique.  
"Yeah." he said, looking at Lina. /This might be helpful, learning 
about Yoshi as a kid.../

	Lina crossed her legs and thought for a moment.  "What was 
that movie...the one we liked back then?  We used to go to the 
park, and pretend we were the stars...you and I would sit out there 
in the sand, and act out the scenes �till dark..."

	Topper smiled, setting his utensils down.  He leaned forward 
slightly, listening.

	Lina's eyes glazed over once more, as her mind reinacted some 
of those days.  "Then the next day, we'd go back out and do it 
again.  I remember, a few summers later, we got the idea to get a 
jar, and stand out in the path intersection, by the fountain?  And 
then learn a few scenes from older movies and act them out for the 
older folk so they'd throw money in the jar?  We made what, a few 
thousand yen that summer?"  She chuckled to herself; one could almost 
see Lina trying to turn back time to replay those moments.

	Topper smiled more, admiring Lina's attempt at rekindling her 
youth.  /It sounds like her and Katawa've been through a lot of great 
times.  No wonder people think there's more to them than friendship.  
I guess it's just a bunch of mixed signals from others.../

	They continued to eat, Lina keeping within her reveries with 
Topper listening.  But as Lina started into her third story, Topper 
noticed the time.  "Damn, we're gonna be late!" he said, his eyes 
slowly widening.

	Lina glanced down at her watch, and sighed.  "Twenty minutes...
I figure we'll just make it.  Can't hold up production, can we."  
She smiled up at Topper.  "Always trying to break down my tardiness 
streak, huh?"

	Topper nodded and smiled slightly.  "Heh, well my behind's on 
the line too, right?" He reached into his pocket for his wallet, and 
pulled out the yen to cover the meal.  "Ready to go?"

	Lina hrmed, as she stood up.  "Well, I wanted some cheesecake, 
but I guess I could stand to suffer tonight."  She grabbed her purse 
and nodded to Topper. "Okay, let's jet."

	Topper nodded, and turned for the door.  Tashi nodded to the 
two as they passed by the podium at the front.  "Thank you ever so 
much for coming, please come again soon!"

	Topper nodded to him, while Lina patted patted Toshi on the 
shoulder.  "Thanks bunches, Tashi-baby.  Great meal." She winked at 
him and the couple walked out the door, Lina waving over to the valet 
to get her car.

	Lina's car pulled up, and they got in, Lina hitting the glass 
just as Topper closed the door.  They were moving at a rather fast 
clip, but Topper didn't mind.  But as they drove for a few 
minutes, Lina decided to break the silence.  "Hey, Katawa?" she 
asked.

	Topper was busying himself at trying to remember his lines 
for the upcoming scene and nodded to her. "Yeah?"

	She looked a bit uneasy as she asked him, "You coming over to 
my place tonight afterwards?"

	Topper started to blush and looked out the window.  /Woah...
maybe those weren't mixed signals from others.../ A trace of fear 
started to creep into his mind again.  He decided to play it safe 
and say cautiously, "Er...I dunno, Lina.  I mean...it's been a while, 
right?"

	Lina nodded slowly, turning back to the road.  "Yeah, I know.  
I figured after that thing that happened in Hiroshima last year...
well..." She drifted off slightly, causing Topper to glance over.

	Lina definately looked a bit uneasy. /Maybe Katawa and her had 
a falling out last year.../  "Uh, well...it's in the past, y'know?  
But...I'm trying to sort out some stuff that happened recently...can 
we like, take things slowly?" he said, hoping that might hold off 
anything tricky.

	Lina nodded, her features turning downcast.  But after a few 
moments, she turned back and put on a smile, trying to regain her 
spunk.  "You'd think after all these years, we'd actually know what 
slow was, huh?"

	Topper smiled weakly, as Lina turned into the set parking 
lot.  She parked and turned off the engine, looking over to Topper.  
"But hey, I can deal.  But you'd better free up your weekend, okay?  
There's that cast mixer this weekend.  Can't have it without the 
star, right?"

	Topper's smile turned a bit upbeat and nodded to her.  "Sure, 
that sounds great, Lina."  They both got out of the car, and walked 
over to the makeup trailer.  They came in just in time, as the 
loudspeakers announced the next scene would be starting in five 
minutes.

	* * *

	When the final scene for the evening ended, Topper moved off 
towards the makeup trailer.  It was way past midnight by his best 
guess, and as he came up to the trailer, the clock over the 
shooting schedule said it was 1:06. /If I'm lucky, I'll get about 
three hours of sleep tonight...damn./ he thought, and checked the 
next day's shoots.

	Most of the day was actually free, which gave him a bit of 
a relief.  Tomorrow was set up as the day in which most of the 
motorcycle-based scenes for the first OVA were to be done, and up 
until the early evening the time was spent with the crews checking 
equipment for the scenes.  Even if he slept in a few more hours, he 
didn't have to be on the set until about six in the evening. /All 
right!/ he thought to himself, and walked over towards his car.

	As he stepped outside the walls of the temple set, he spotted 
Mika on the sidewalk, talking to one of the director's assistants. 
Topper walked over to her with a tired smile, as the assistant turned 
to go.  "Heya, Mika."

	Mika turned to look at Topper, a slight purse upon her lips.  
"Heya.  Thought you'd be with Miss Tikatsu."  There was a slight icing 
to her words, which caught him slightly off guard.  

	Topper shrugged, hoping it was nothing.  "She did too, I 
guess.  I managed to wiggle out of it."  He smiled a bit and 
continued on.  "Anyways, since filming's not until tomorrow 
evening, I thought we could do some rehearsing in the afternoon?"

	Mika raised an eyebrow, looking at Topper for a few moments.  
"Is that after a lunch date with Miss Tikatsu?  I'm sorry, Mister 
Katawa...I don't like being played around like that."  With that, 
she turned and headed off towards her car.

	Topper blinked a few times, as he saw her go. He definately 
noticed her being formal about his name.  /What in the...she dragged 
me off to dinner!  I didn't have a choice!!  Man...what do I have to 
do to get a break around here.../ he thought, as his head started to 
droop.

	"Can't say I blame her, considering your past reputation." 
a seemingly understanding voice said behind Topper.  He whirled 
around, looking at a figure mostly obscured by the shadows of the 
temple wall.  The figure was leaning on the wall, and had their 
arms crossed over their chest. 

	/She sounds so familar.../ he thought as he looked at the figure 
for a few moments.  "It's not how it looks...I don't work that way." 
He said curtly, and paused a moment before adding, "Who are you?"

	The figure chuckled softly and righted herself.  As her form 
slipped slightly from the shadows, she said, "I'm sorry, dark shadows 
seem to follow me around.  It's Makoto.  Tatoshi Makoto."  She took a 
few steps forward, and as she did so her form illuminated in the 
light of the moon.  She was wearing a simple black dress with a 
silver belt.  Her pumps were also black and the whole ensemble seemed 
to fit in with her long strands of silver hair, cascading freely 
down her shoulders and back.  She gave a small smile and asked 
Topper, "Do you have a few moments so we can talk?"

	Topper blinked a few times, as he looked at the figure.  His 
mind finally reorganized, and he mutted the name of the woman he 
knew her better as. "Urd...".
______________________________________________________________________
Delany Brittain
  turtyl@montana.com		--Primary e-mail
  turtyl@selway.umt.edu	--Secondary e-mail
  turtyl@otaking.org		--For use in case of bounced e-mails.
-----
	"A pat on the back isn't that far away from a kick in the ass."
	  --Doug Flutie

http://www.megami.net/~turtyl/ --looking for a new home at the moment...