Subject: [FFML] [SM/MB, sort of] Marmalade Moon #8
From: Rhea Seraph
Date: 4/22/2000, 12:33 AM
To: ffml@fanfic.com



	Beryl was feeling benevolent today; she'd finally 
programmed her staff to let her play Quake.  Millions of 
icons programmed to look like Generals Horny and Ego were 
dying in droves, making her feel quite happy with the patch 
that Youma Microsoft had cooked up for her.  Until her staff 
suddenly flashed the words 'General Protection Fault' and 
went dead.

	She growled at her staff.  "I was playing, dammit!"

	"You can play with me, Beryl-sama!" General Horny 
announced, climbing into her lap.

	Beryl sighed.  "Go find Pluto."

	She handed Beryl a copy of _The Republic_.  "Here you 
go, Beryl-sama.  Can we play with your staff now?"  Beryl 
contemplated beating her to death with it.  

*******************

Marmalade Moon, Episode 8:

"Sana vs. Suzu.
We WISH it was mortal combat."

http://www.maison-otaku.net/~rhea/MMoon

by John Biles

********************

	Suzu physically trembled as she turned the pages of 
'Teen Idols Monthly'.  They'd actually dared to interview Sana 
before they interviewed her.  How dare they?  What was 
worse, it was for Sana's upcoming appearance in 'Soft 
Moonlight Dreams', a movie that Suzu had also auditioned 
for.  They'd almost given her the part...until Sana applied for 
it.  

	She ignored the first few insipid questions they'd 
asked Sana; who cared why Sana was a model or what her 
future plans were?  The important thing was to see if she'd 
been honest and fessed up to sending her pimp to bribe the 
director to hire her instead of Suzu.  Or maybe she'd sent 
that inspid pit of depression boy who seemed to be hanging 
around Sana all the time now.  He could have threatened to 
come live with the director if the man didn't hire Sana.  I'd 
think he was her boyfriend, but even Sana couldn't have such 
bad taste, Suzu thought.

[		SO, HOW DID YOU GET THE ROLE OF PRINCESS 
KAMEKO IN YOUR NEW FILM?

		"Oh... before they asked me, I think they 
weretrying to find some unknowns, like... what's hername, 
she's not important anyway"

		 (Interjected by her companion, a boy 
named Hayama: Sakuma Suzu...)

		"Oh yeah, _her_.  Anyway, after they tried
her out they decided they needed someone properly innocent 
and naive, like me, so here I am, from the stage of Kodomo
no Omocha to Soft Moonlight Dreams.  I've always been a 
princess in my dreams, and now I get to play one!  It's 
great."

		SHE ISN'T THAT BAD, IS SHE?  SHE WAS RATHER 
IMPRESSIVE IN THE VENUS PERFUME ADS, AND HER VOICE 
ACTING IN THE TENNIS WARRIOR V SHOW GOT HER AN 
AWARD.

		"Well, she's adequate, but she has no 
improvement skills (to which Hayama interjected, 
'Improvisational') and you see, you really can't see 
how badly she emasculates (Hayama: Enunciate) when she's 
only voicing for animation, you know what i mean? She 
hasn't got the grace, the charm, thebeauty... *beams* 
And I've done a great job, didn't I, Hayama? Didn't
I?" (Hayama: Uh-huh.)

	Suzu would have frothed rabidly, but it wouldn't have 
been ladylike.  Instead, she ripped the entire magazine into 
one inch squares.  By the time she finished, she had calmed 
down enough to begin plotting a blood curdling revenge.  Suzu 
was not normally a hateful person, but for Sana, she would 
always make an exception.

*************

	"You want me to do what, sir?"  Youma Britannia looked 
very surprised.

	"You're going to become an exchange student," General 
Zwei-lite, said.  "We need to construct a believable 'secret ID' 
for you.  And this makes most of your past in another 
country where they can't check it.  I will make the 
arrangements.  What would you like for a name?"

	"Perdita X."

	"That doesn't sound very British."

	"Well, it was in a British book."

	"And the Spanish Inquisition was too," he replied.  "Try 
a British name."

	"Hmm.  How about Guenevere Alice Bulwer-Lytton?"  

	"Yes, that should do nicely," he said.  "Go buy yourself 
some normal clothing, and I'll arrange for your new life."

	"How am I supposed to pass my classes with no 
education?"

	"You just need an excuse to be around them.  They'll 
expect foreigners to be incompetent, anyway; it'll make you 
more believable."

	"..."

	"We're heading for the endgame, anyway.  Only three 
more rings to go."

	"Yes, sir."  She didn't sound very enthusiastic.

****************

	Meiko walked down the street with Miki and Yuu, 
watching them bicker on the way to school.  She smiled; it 
was playful bickering, not hostile.  After three days at the 
Koishikawa/ Matsura house, she felt like part of the family.  
I couldn't possibly safer, except if I could stay with Na-chan, 
she thought.  But that will come soon enough.

	Miki turned to Meiko.  "I don't really act like a monkey, 
do I?"

	Meiko giggled.  "Monkeys are better behaved."

	"Hrmph.  See if I ask you anything," Miki said, pouting.

	"Well, we could try putting a thousand Mikis in a room 
with typewriters and see how long they take to write one of 
Shakespeare's plays,"  Yuu said, grinning.

	"Faster than you would, judging by that short story 
you wrote for class today," Meiko said.

	Yuu winced.  "It's not that bad."

	"Eight pages of someone wandering through a house 
and looking at everything is not a plot," Meiko said.  
"Although your descriptive prose is good.  I felt like I'd been 
there once I finished.  But absolutely nothing really 
happened.  No conflict."

	"I've never liked conflict," Yuu said, staring off down 
the road.

	"Was that an old house of yours you were describing?"  
Miki asked.

	He shook his head.  "One of Miwa Yoshimitsu's best 
designs.  It's a house in Kyoto I got to tour once.  Very 
beautiful."  He smiled.  "I'd love to build a house like that."

	Miki blinked.  "You want to be an architect?"

	He nodded.

	I never knew that, Miki thought.  But I guess I don't 
know a lot about Yuu; he doesn't ever talk about himself.  
"How long have you wanted to be an architect?"

	"Years," he said.  "Not sure how long, exactly."

	"Miwa...any relation to Miwa-kun?"

	"His father," Yuu said.  "I'd like to meet him some day."

	"You should ask him, then," Miki urged Yuu.  "I'm sure 
he'd be happy to introduce you."

	Yuu was silent for about half a minute, then said, "I 
wouldn't be sure what to say."

	Miki poked him in the side.  "Chicken.  Afraid to meet 
your hero."

	"Am not!"

	"Are too!"

	They stuck out their tongues at each other, and Meiko 
giggled.  "Just like real siblings," she said.

	They both looked embarrassed.  

***********

	Setsuna danced around as she came to the lunch table.  
"He said yes!"

	Miki asked, "Who?  What?"

	"Ginta's going to come give me some private lessons 
tonight," she said.  "I suppose I ought to give up on him since 
he does have a girlfriend, but...he's just so cute!"  She then 
sat down and started gushing.

	Once she finished, Meiko said, "Why are you getting so 
red in the face, Miki?"

	"Nothing."  I'm not jealous, she thought.  I'm not.  I've 
got no reason whatsoever to be jealous.  Nope.  

	She glanced two tables down where Miwa, Ginta, and 
Yuu were eating lunch and talking about something.  Every so 
often Yuu pointed their way.  She tried to listen in, but had 
no luck.

	"Oh, Miki," Meiko said.  "Suzu gave me two passes to 
come visit the animation studio where she does the voice for 
the Tennis Warrior V TV show.  Would you like to come with 
me?"

	"Sure!"  Miki said.  "Sounds fun."  An idea struck her.  
She whispered, "When I point, everyone laugh, okay?"

	"Uh, okay," Setsuna said.

	Miki pointed over at Yuu's table, and made her mouth 
move as if she was speaking.  The three girls laughed, and 
the three boys turned and stared at them.  They then acted 
as innocent as they could.  Miki did this two more times, and 
finally, Yuu got up and came over.

	"What's so funny?"

	"Nothing," Miki said, giggling.  "Much."

	He looked at the three of them, then pointed at her 
school medallion.  "Hey, something's wrong with your 
medallion."

	She looked down, and his finger came up and snubbed 
her nose and chin.  He jumped back, laughing.  "Oops, I guess 
nothing much was wrong with it."

	He soon got to demonstrate nothing was wrong with 
his running abilities either.

***********

	"As she gazed upon the handsome tennis player, she 
could feel her blood race in her veins," Setsuna said.  "As his 
hand closed the gap between them, she found herself 
yearning for his touch, for it excited her more than she 
could express in words."  She spoke with a slowly mounting 
passion, while most of the rest of the class was either 
staring in shock or plugging their ears.  "She took it with her 
hand, and guided it to slide down her back as she stepped 
closer to him.  Now, they..."

	Na-chan was heavily regretting having his students 
read passages from their stories.  "That's enough, Setsuna.  
Thank you."

	"As he swept her into his firm embrace, he found it 
hard to believe he could have ever thought he loved any 
woman but her.  To feel her firm breasts pressed into his 
chest, her lips touching his, that was his food and drink now.  
It was all he needed," Setsuna continued, oblivious to Na-
chan, the class, or anything but the eight page story she 
was holding (she had just moved onto page three), and Ginta, 
who she kept glancing at.  

	Ginta tried to crawl inside the drawer under the top of 
his desk and hide.  It didn't work.  

	"Clumsily, he fumbled at her belt, until she took his 
strong, weathered hand with her soft, gentle touch, and 
helped him to undo the clasp.  It fell to the ground, and her 
skirt fell to the ground.  Then she reached for his..."  
Setsuna was reading faster and looked flushed.

	"That's enough, Setsuna," Na-chan tried saying again.  
"You can let Meiko read now."

	"This was the moment of which she had dreamed, when 
the man she loved would finally be hers, once and forever, 
washing away her memories of the man who had dumped her 
for liking tennis more than him.  Of course, he had been a 
total jerk, so she was much better off with this kind and 
loving soul, who also shared her favorite hobby, and didn't 
cheat at mah jong, unlike one of her friends.  But that's 
another story entirely."  Setsuna rambled on, calming down a 
tiny bit and flipping the page.

	Many of the class members tried to pretend they 
didn't exist, while the rest were trying to resist the urge to 
do things not normally done in public.  Yuu raised his hand.  
When Na-chan turned to him, he said, "Should I take action, 
sir?"

	"Please," Na-chan said.  

	He went to the class locker and got his backpack, 
carefully emptying it, then walked up behind Setsuna.

	"They sat on the edge of the bed, hesitating, for 
neither of them had ever gone this before.  Then, he gently 
laid her down, undoing her bra top as he did so," Setsuna 
said.  Then the backpack came down over her head, plunging 
her into darkness.  "What the..."

	"Black out!  Everyone head for the door!"  Yuu said, 
taking her by the door and leading her off towards the 
hallway.

	The class laughed, and Na-chan gave a sigh of relief.  
"Meiko, if you will read a selection from your story now?"

	She stood up.  "My story is called 'The Silver Pin'.  It's 
the story of the illicit love between a teacher and a 
student."  She soon launched into a spirited reading of her 
tale.

	Na-chan started trying to remember who else brought 
a backpack to school.

***************

	"Anyway, I thought we could meet at Cafe Totoro and 
plan out our next effort," Arimi said to Ginta over the phone.

	"When?" he asked.

	"At five?"

	"I'm going over to Setsuna's to help her work on her 
serve," he said.  "Tonight isn't good."  He sounded rather 
nervous, as if it was...a date.

	She felt a pang of jealousy run through her, and nearly 
dropped the phone from surprise.  It's not like we're REALLY 
dating, she thought.  He can certainly go out with another 
woman if he...Why am I thinking this way?  She's just a tennis 
buddy of his and it's not like I'm his girlfriend.  But the 
jealousy remained.  "How about tomorrow at five, then?"

	"I'm supposed to study with Miki and Meiko and Yuu for 
a test."

	Arimi tried desperately to think of some excuse she 
could get to wangle an invitation to that.  "Hmm...how about 
if I show up at some point during that, to take you away for 
dinner to make them jealous?"

	"Yeah, that could work.  Make it about 6:30; that'll give 
me time to get to the most important stuff before we go."

	"Done."  She began running over possible dinner 
reservations in her head.  I deserve a nice meal, she thought.  

*************

	General Ego was one of the most worthless beings in 
all of space and time, although her friend General Horny 
could actually top her for this.  However, at times, she 
transcended herself and did something useful, or at least 
successful.  Ninety-five percent of the time this was 
something intended to help her slake her insatiable lust for 
women.

	But just this once, it was the other five percent.  While 
it had taken a while to sink in, she'd finally concluded that if 
she actually did what Beryl wanted, Beryl would stop 
punishing her for not doing it.  The idea of doing what 
someone else wanted was fairly alien to her, so she was 
having to go slow and adjust to the concept.  

	She'd gone down to the archives, run by an old youma 
named Iron Pyrite.  He was getting senile, but he kept the 
records in good shape.  Getting any information out of him, 
though, was a challenge worthy of Hercules.  "Pluto is not an 
animated dog," she repeated for the eighth time.

	"He most certainly is.  You think I made all those 
commemorative plates myself?"  He scratched his head.  
"I'm a librarian, not a proctologist, you know."

	Ego curbed her instincts, which shouted for her to 
have him sent to the dungeons.  Not now, she told herself.  
Not until I don't need him.  "Proctologists don't make plates."

	"Exactly," he said.  "Oh wait...you mean the other 
Pluto."

	"YES!"

	He went and dug around the shelves for about fifteen 
minutes, then returned with a hefty tome bound in gold and 
leather.  "Here you go."  It was labelled _Bullfinch's 
Mythology_.  "Everything you'd ever want to know about 
Zeus' brother."

	Ego twitched.  "Tennis Warrior Pluto."

	"I don't think they had tennis in ancient Greece."

	"Beryl wants me to find Tennis Warrior Pluto."

	"Well, I don't have him."

	"Her!"

	"While Pluto probably did sleep with everything that 
moved since everyone else in his pantheon did, he was 
definitely a guy."

	Ego fled screaming.

	"Kids these days, I just don't get them," Iron Pyrite 
said.

***********
	
	Ginta felt like a man who was about to be thrown to 
the lions as he walked up to Setsuna's front door.  Maybe 
that story was just a coincidence, he thought.  After all, 
Meiko isn't really having an affair with her teacher, and Yuu 
doesn't really wander around through houses just looking at 
the furniture, and Miki isn't really Tennis Warrior Moon.  My 
story was about two kids playing with a cat; it wasn't some 
thinly disguised version of my life.  I hope.

	And she's probably gotten it out of her system by now, 
he thought.  I'm sure she won't come to the door and jump on 
me and pull off my shirt and...  He stomped that line of 
thought flat.  Miki is the woman for me, and I'm dating Arimi, 
so...I mean, I'm not really dating Arimi, but...  His brain 
missed a gear and derailed.

	A few seconds later, he shook his head.  I like Miki, but 
I just don't think Arimi's plan is going to work.  Miki's got in 
her head that we're serious, and even if we told her it was a 
trick, she'd probably think we were joking.  His hand knocked 
on the door on autopilot as he pondered.

	Setsuna answered the door, wearing a light green 
blouse and a matching skirt, along with her tennis club visor, 
and holding her racket.  "Hi!  Ready to play?"

	He gave a great sigh of relief.  "Yeah."  He twirled his 
racket.  "Ready and raring to go."

	"Good, good."  She let him in, then started through the 
house.  "I was hoping maybe you could help me work on 
revising my story after we finish."

	Ginta began mentally composing his will.

************

	Ryouko turned the corner, and saw Namura-kun at 
Junk Jungle, just like she expected.  He was drinking coffee 
with Kijima-kun and with a girl she didn't know, about the 
same age as Miki and Meiko.  Whoever she was, she didn't 
look Japanese; her skin was too pale and her features were 
wrong as well.  Perhaps she's related to one of Kijima-kun's 
friends from America, Ryouko speculated.

	Hearing them conversing in English as she approached 
gave more justification to her suspicion.  Once she reached 
them, she said in English,  "I came as quickly as I could, but 
the train was late."

	Namura smiled at her.  "Good afternoon, Ryoko."

	Kijima laughed.  "I didn't mean you had to rush that 
much.  I thought you'd like to meet Namura-kun's new 
student, since she is interested in playing tennis.  Her name 
is Guenevere Alice Bulwer-Lytton."

	Guenevere stood and bowed clumsily.  She was 
remarkably muscular for someone her age, and seemed 
nimble; her ineptness at bowing was obviously from a lack of 
experience.  "Nice to meet you."

	"Nice to meet you.  I'm Momoi Ryoko," she said, then 
sat down.  Yuu brought her a cup of coffee, just the way she 
liked it, then flashed a smile at her and vanished back into 
the store.  "Now that's service."

	Guenevere sipped her coffee.  "It's very good."

	"Well, we're not a fancy place, but I do my best to buy 
high-quality coffee," he replied.  

	"So you're interested in tennis?"  Ryoko asked 
Guenevere.

	Guenevere nodded.  "I played on our team back at Saint 
Mary's in Shrewsbury.  I assume the rules are the same 
here?"

	Ryoko nodded.  "We have a men's team and a women's 
team, and we also do mixed doubles.  We have a tournament 
against Mugen Gakuen in two weeks."

	"I'm sure you'll do well," Kijima said.

	Namura shook his head.  "We'll be lucky if anyone 
besides Ginta and Kaji win, but we'll give it our best shot."  He 
paused.  "Out of the boy's team, that is."

	"Well, I think Miki and Setsuna and Naoko can probably 
win their matches, but...it's going to be rough."

	Guenevere nodded.  "Well, I'll give it my best shot."

	Kijima waggled a finger.  "Don't be so down.  You can't 
win unless you know you're going to win.  Expect to lose and 
you're toast."

	Guenevere nodded.  "I always fi...play to win.  I'm sure 
you have a good team; we'll just have to work hard."

	Ryoko smiled.  This was the sort of spirit she liked her 
team to have.  "Well, come to practice tomorrow, and I'll 
introduce you to everyone."  She thought for a moment.  
"Hmm, we don't have any extra guys for the mixed doubles 
matches, do we?"

	"Hmm?  Oh, we have three, I think," Namura said.  
"Assuming any of them come.  I have a sinking feeling some 
of them are planning to 'be sick'."  He sighed.  "But my best 
people will be there."

	"And mine," she replied.

	"Then there's nothing to worry about," Kijima declared.

	"Sometimes one's best is not enough," Namura 
fretted.

	"Well, one's worst CERTAINLY isn't," he replied.  "I 
never saw you as someone who would give up in the face of 
adversity, Namura-kun."

	Namura looked embarrassed and fiddled with the white 
gold crossed racquet pin on his shirt.  "I've just had a lot to 
worry about, like the house of one of my students burning 
down, and my landlord wanting to raise the rent.  
Unfortunately, my salary won't be increasing any time soon."

	"You're already paying highway robbery for that place," 
Kijima said.  "Well, if it gets to be too much, I can put you up 
for a while while you search for a new place."

	Namura nodded.  "Thanks.  I'll probably be moving some 
time soon."

	"I can help you move...if you need the help," Ryoko said.

	"Thanks," he said, smiling at her.  "I'll probably pay 
some students to help as well."  He rose.  "I've got to run; I'm 
supposed to meet a student's parents and try to explain why 
their child is a plagiarist."

	Ryoko winced.  "Good luck."

	"If you don't see me tomorrow, call the police," he said, 
smiling.  "I'll take you by your host family's place, okay, 
Guenevere?"

	"Okay."  She rose.  "Nice to meet both of you."

	"Nice to meet you too," Ryoko said, smiling.

	Once the two disappeared out of sight, Kijima said, 
"Don't wait too long, Ryoko."  He got up.  "I suppose I should 
go pretend to work now."

	She blinked, then realized what he meant.  "I think he...I 
mean..."

	"Good luck."

	"Thanks."

****************

	Ginta sat and twitched mindlessly, praying it would get 
late enough for him to gracefully bow out before it came 
time to 'help Setsuna with her story'.  It wasn't that he 
didn't find her attractive, but he couldn't afford a fling with 
anyone, not when he was dating one girl and trying to win 
another one's heart.  My life is insane, he thought.

	Setsuna had gone to shower after their session; he 
feared what she might change into before her return.  Thus 
it was that he was quite relieved when Setsuna's mother, a 
middle-aged woman with green black hair and violet eyes, 
swept into the room.  "Setsuna told me to entertain you 
while she was getting clean," she said with a smile, sitting 
down across the room on the couch.  "You're on the Tennis 
team with her, right?"

	He nodded.  "Yes, ma'am.  She's very good."

	"With all the money we've spent on private lessons for 
her, I'd be very disappointed if she wasn't.  I understand you 
two were going to work on a story she wrote," Setsuna's 
mother continued.

	"Um, yes, if we have time."  He looked at the clock, but 
it was still only about eight.  "Depending on how long her 
shower is."

	"Good.  I'm looking forward to it.  She writes very well; 
I've told her she ought to become a writer, but she wants to 
be an idol singer.  Even though she's a horrible singer."

	Why is there never a youma attack when you need one, 
Ginta asked himself.

****************

	"So why won't you date my cousin?" Suzu asked Meiko.  
"A pretty girl like you should have a handsome boyfriend like 
him."

	Meiko twitched, especially when she heard Rumi giggle 
in the kitchen.  They were in the living room, and she was 
trying to tutor Suzu, who she had concluded might be the 
only human being able to survive without a brain.  "He's not 
my type."

	"Oh, you'd rather date a cute blond like Yuu?" she 
asked.  "I'm sure he'd go out with you if you asked."

	"My parents are in the hospital, and I'm a refugee.  I 
can't date anyone right now," she replied, instead of boring a 
hole into Suzu's head to see if she found anything in it at all.  
"Are you ready to study instead of talking about boys?"

	"Not really."

	"Too bad.  Now, pluralize the following words..."

**********

	In the backyard, Artemis and Luna lay in the grass, 
supposedly planning a new course of action.  Instead, Luna 
said, "Did you trade Venus' brain for fish?"

	"She's a twelve-year old.  Give her time," Artemis said.  
"Did you trade the Moon Princess for fish?"

	"Hrmph.  We'll find her soon enough.  In fact, I think we 
may have.  I think Meiko may be the Princess."

	"Well, it would fit some of the evidence.  But until we 
get the Moon/Earth ring or assemble them all, we can't be 
sure," Artemis said, batting at a fly.

	"We never even saw Zwei-lite make off with it," Luna 
said.  "Or found out where that Britannia woman came from."

	"Britain, I think," Artemis said.

	"Brilliant deduction, Sherlock," Luna said.  "Maybe she 
took it.  She might be working for the enemy."

	"She helped defeat the Dooms, though," Artemis said.  
"I think we can trust her.  I mean, for all we know, the 
Masked Golfers might be working for Beryl too, but until we 
have reason to distrust them, I'm inclined to trust them."

	"I think they're the Prince's Guardians," Luna said.  
"We'll find out soon enough, I'm sure."

	"Then we'll have to find Zwei-lite and recover the ones 
he has.  We haven't done so well getting them."

	"Well, we now outnumber him badly, and two of our 
Tennis Warriors can Super Size themselves.  Next time, we'll 
stomp him," Artemis said.

	"Try not to talk so loudly; my parents might hear you," 
Miki said, sending both of them flopping over in surprise.

	"Do you think Meiko is the princess?"  Artemis asked 
Miki.

	"Maybe.  I have no way to tell.  But either way, she'll be 
safe here."

	Artemis nodded.  "A stroke of luck for us, if not for 
her."

	Miki sat down.  "I feel sorry for her."

	"So do I," Luna said.  "I know what it's like to lose one's 
home.  This world, in your time, is so strange to me."

	Miki picked her up and started petting her.  "I guess it 
is all new to you."

	"Yeah, although the fish are still good," Artemis said.  
"That helps me get by."

	"Feed him, and he's satisfied," Luna said. 

	"Hrmph."

****************

	Ginta had been in worse positions before, but most of 
them involved getting beaten up.  Setsuna emerged in a long 
purple skirt and a dark purple blouse, and seemed utterly 
unruffled by the fact that her mother was going to listen to 
the story.  This filled Ginta with the most fear he'd ever 
experienced in his entire life.  

	Sadly, no youma came to his rescue.  Instead, Setsuna 
launched into her story.  "Mei had always dreamed of having 
her own horse."

	Ginta blinked.  Obviously some heavy revision had taken 
place.  Either that or...he prayed that was a literal sentence.

	"That chance came when her family moved out to the 
countryside, buying a farm.  They got four horses in the 
deal, and she took one and named him Dapple."

	The story continued, and Ginta offered various 
comments, wondering if he'd somehow hallucinated the 
entire incident at school.  Finally, they finished the story, 
and Setsuna showed him to the door.  He asked, "Umm...was 
that..."

	"It wasn't.  I couldn't possibly read that with Mother 
listening," she said.

	"You read it to the entire class."

	"I didn't realize he was going to make us read them 
aloud," she said, blushing.  "I'd rather have just read it to..."  
She stared into his eyes.  "The one who inspired it."

	His mind flashed back to that, and his hormones 
surged.  For a moment, he felt the impulse to kiss her, and 
only the knowledge of how close her mother was stopped 
him.  It didn't stop her.  She closed her eyes and leaned 
forward, and their lips met for a few seconds.

	Then she jumped back and said hurriedly, "Thanks for 
coming over, see you tomorrow!"  The door shut, leaving him 
to stare in shock. 

****************	

	"Ready to go to the studio tomorrow afternoon?" 
Meiko asked Miki at lunch the next day.

	"Yeah!  I'm pretty excited," Miki said.  

	Setsuna ran up and sat down, bouncing around like she 
was a jumping bean.  She tried to open her lunch, but was too 
perky to have much luck, nearly knocking it over on herself.  
"Hi!"

	"What's got you in such a good mood?" Miki asked.

	"Ginta kissed me!" she announced.

	Meiko's eyes widened.  "He what?  But he's dating 
Arimi-san."

	Miki couldn't believe it.  No way, she thought.  He'd 
never do that to Arimi, and... Her heart sank.  She knew it 
was irrational to be jealous, but...he never kissed me, she 
thought.  Even when he...liked me.  She must have dreamed 
it from reading her story too much.  Yes, that has to be it.

	"True passion cannot be bound or caged," Setsuna 
said.  "It triumphs over all barriers."  She got up and danced 
around.  "Wahoo!"

	"Ummm..."  Meiko fell silent again, glancing over at Miki.

	Miki stood up.  "I have to...check my air pressure."  She 
ran off.

	Setsuna blinked.  "Huh?"

	"It's part of something she's helping Yuu with, I think," 
Meiko spontaneously lied, instinctively covering for Miki.  
"Some tire inflation test or something."  Hmm.  I bet if I try 
hard, I can come up with an even stupider excuse, she 
thought.

	"Oh, okay," Setsuna said.  "Did I mention how cute Ginta 
is?"

	"Yes."

	"He is sooooooo cute," Setsuna said, then began to 
sing his praises more than Meiko could stand, although she 
was too polite to flee screaming.

****************

	"Everyone, this is Guenevere.  She's an exchange 
student from Britain."  Ryoko then introduced everyone in 
the club one by one.  Guenevre smiled and nodded pleasantly 
to everyone.

	"I hope I can contribute to the club while I'm here, and I 
hope we all have a lot of fun this year!"  Guenevere said.

	"Okay, everyone, let's split up and have some practice 
matches.  Miki vs. Setsuna.  Keiko vs. Guenevere.  Naoko vs. 
Nabiki.  Momiji vs. Momoe."  She continued on, rattling off 
names until everyone had someone to play against.  
"Tomorrow, we'll be doing some mixed doubles practice with 
the guys."

	Guenevere demolished Keiko and then Momiji while Miki 
and Setsuna were still going at it.  This was a reflection of 
both her own skill and of the fact that Miki and Setsuna were 
too good for either of them to lose very quickly.  Setsuna 
had a little more power, while Miki had more speed.  

	Finally, everyone was around the court, even the guys, 
watching them go at it.  In the end, endurance told.  Miki 
didn't seem capable of getting tired, while Setsuna began 
breathing faster and heavier, until finally, she stumbled 
instead of returning a shot, and Miki got the winning point.  

	Kaji, a tall skinny guy with short black hair, said, "Geez, 
I heard about women having more endurance, but yeesh, that 
was just...yeesh."

	Setsuna staggered over to Ginta and practically fell on 
him.  "Water."

	He helped her over to the water fountain, but not 
before saying to Miki, "Wow, you've gotten good.  Looks like 
we'll be doing well at mixed doubles tomorrow."

	Miki smiled, carefully stomping on the fit of jealousy 
she felt at seeing Setsuna draped over Ginta.  "Thanks.  You 
were looking pretty good yourself!  We're still studying for 
the test together tonight, right?"

	"Yes," Ginta said as he helped Setsuna over to the 
fountain.

	Guenevere came up to Miki.  "That was incredible."

	"I've seen pros do a lot better."

	"If you had more power, you'd be ready for the pro 
circuit.  How'd you get so quick?"

	"Running to get to school on time," Yuu said, coming up 
to them through the crowd.  

	Miki jumped.  "What are you still doing here?"

	"I decided to come watch you play.  She's right, you do 
need to work on your power and your serve.  You keep 
serving to the same place every time," Yuu said.

	Ryoko nodded.  "I'd noticed that too.  Except for the 
times you served right at Setsuna's head."

	Monster hunting instincts get the better of me, Miki 
thought, feeling a little embarrassed.  "Okay, I'll work on it."

	"You were playing very well too, Setsuna," Ryoko said.  
"I think you'll do well at the tournament.  It would help if you 
didn't keep looking over at the men's games, though."

	Setsuna turned red and nodded.  "Right."

	It's not the games she's watching, it's the men, Miki 
thought.  Ginta is taken!  If I...I mean...  Miki frowned at 
herself.  Don't get jealous, she thought.  Just don't.

****************

	General Ego sat at one of Beryl's computer terminals, 
trying to figure out how to get it to work.  
 
	Youma Microsoft said, "Where do you want to go 
today?"

	Ego jumped.  "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

	"Trying to find something by an internet search?"

	"Yes.  Tennis Warrior Pluto."

	"She probably isn't listed online."

	Ego grabbed Microsoft.  "You WILL find her for me."

	"Urk.  Okay, okay.  Click on Search."

	The machine hummed and a new page loaded.  

	"Now in the box there," he pointed to it, "type 'Tennis 
Warrior Pluto'."

	She did so, then hit return.

	There was more whirring, and a new page came up.  

	[Your search has found 251,004 sites.  Now displaying 
1-20 of 251,004]

	"..."

	"Behold the power of the Internet."

	"Do I have to read ALL those pages?"

	"Only until you find the one you want.  And half of them 
will actually be porn."

	"Really?"

	"Unfortunately, yes."

	"Well, let's get to it!  Show me the porn!"  General Ego 
said and went to work.

****************

	"<I would like,>" Ginta read out loud in English from the 
exercise book.   

	"<I would like,>" Yuu, Miki, and Meiko repeated.  Meiko 
said it calmly and fluently, while Miki and Yuu stumbled over 
the 'l' sounds.  

	"<To feed your fingertips,>"  Ginta continued.

	"<To feed your fingertips,>" Yuu and Miki said, 
stumbling along on this part as well.

	"<To feed yo...,>"  Meiko paused and stared at Ginta.  
"Are you sure you read that right?"

	The doorbell rang, and Rumi went to go get it.

	"<To the wolverines,>"  Ginta concluded, then said to 
Meiko, "Did I pronounce it wrong?"

	"<To the wolverines,>" Miki and Yuu finished.

	"How exactly does the book say that translates into 
Japanese?"

	He read the line in red under it.  "Please move your 
hand."  He scratched his head.  "You know, it takes an awful 
lot to say that in English."

	Rumi returned with Arimi following her.  "Ginta, your 
girlfriend is here," she said.

	"I've come to take Ginta away for our dinner date," she 
said, looking right at Miki, then taking Ginta by the arm.  
"C'mon, we'll be late if we don't hurry."

	Miki said, "I thought you said you were going to eat with 
us, Ginta."

	"I forgot," he said, and honestly he had, helped along by 
how good the food smelled.  

	"Why don't you eat with us?" Yuu suggested.  "We 
always have a lot of food."

	"Well, we did already make the reservation," Ginta 
began.

	Arimi said, "Sure, we can stay."  She sat down by 
Ginta, still holding onto his arm.  "Studying English?"

	"English is awful and impossible," Miki said.  "And it's 
not like I'll ever need it."

	"Not going to go to Hawaii like your parents?" Meiko 
teased gently.  Rumi and Chiyako, both at work in the kitchen 
cooking, paused in their work and laughed. 

	"I'd like to visit America like Kijima-san, some day," Yuu 
said.  

	"English is easy," Arimi said.  "Here, I'll show you."  She 
picked up the book and began to read aloud.  "<May your 
bowels be eaten by a rabid ferret if you do not immediately 
get the hell out of here.>  That means...Hey, wait a minute."  
She scanned the page again.  "That doesn't mean 'please get 
out of my way'.  Who wrote this book?"

	"That's what I was wondering," Meiko said.

	"We should have asked that British girl to come help 
us," Ginta said.

	Arimi continued to read through the book, her eyes 
widening.  "What sort of maniac wrote this?"

	Miki got up.  "I'll call Ryoko-sensei.  Maybe she can get 
ahold of her for us."

************

	Guenevere quickly paged through the book when she 
arrived.  "This is a parody of a phrasebook," she said.  
"Where did you get this?"

	"I found it in the library," Ginta said.

	"Well, you can't burn it then, but...okay, let's see what 
we can do."

	By the time dinner arrived, they'd been through an 
hour of linguistic hell.  One can only get so brutal in studying 
English, but Guenevere had pushed Ginta, Yuu, and Miki as 
hard as she could.  Miki was starting to feel like she was 
under attack by a conjugation youma.  Meiko and Arimi, on 
the other hand, had little trouble.  

	Dinner was a welcome break, even if Rumi had cooked 
half of it.  After they'd gone through the usual parental 
routine of asking how school was, Jin asked Guenevere, "So 
you're playing on Miki's tennis team now?"

	"Yes, sir," she replied.  "They seem to be pretty good."

	"How do you think you'll do against Mugen Gakuen?"

	"I'm sure we'll do well," Guenevere said.  "We have two 
good coaches, and everyone seems very enthusiastic."

	Miki said, "It's going to be pretty rough.  Mugen Gakuen 
is very, very good."

	Ginta nodded.  "Miki will probably have to go up against 
Kaiou Michiru, their best player.  She's one of those geniuses 
who does everything well.  Perfect grades, plays violin 
professionally while still in high school, paints...does just 
about everything."

	Arimi gave him a sidelong glance.  "You seem to know 
an awful lot about her."  There was just the teensiest bit of 
sharpness to her voice.

	"She writes poetry too," Meiko said.  "I read some she 
wrote for a contest I entered.  She got second prize."

	"I...uh..."  Ginta looked embarrassed.  "My parents took 
me to one of her concerts a few months ago."

	"And that's all?"  Miki asked.

	"That's all," he said.

	Four parents glanced at the various children and each 
other, then nodded.  Only Guenevere and Meiko actually 
noticed this, although Yuu was frowning slightly for no 
discernable reason.  

	Guenevere said, "Don't worry, Miki.  After seeing you 
play, I doubt she has a chance against you."

	Miki blushed slightly.  "I wasn't that impressive."

	"Normally, no,"  Yuu said, "But you were incredibly good 
today."  He turned to Miki's parents.  "You ought to come see 
her play.  She wore Setsuna out, and that isn't easy."

	"You can say that again," Ginta muttered, then shrank 
in on himself when many pairs of eyes turned and focused on 
him.  

	"It certainly took a blackout to stop her when she was 
reading her story about you," Yuu said, laughing.  Miki blushed 
at the memory, and Meiko looked embarrassed as well.  Ginta 
looked like he was going to die.

	"She wrote a story about you?"  Arimi asked Ginta 
suspiciously.

	"It was NOT about me," Ginta said.  "Any more than my 
story was about anyone real."

	Guenevere simply listened quietly, looking confused.

	Rumi said, "Ooh, was it a confession of love?"

	"That's one way of putting it," Yuu said, laughing.  
"Shall I quote?"

	"No!"  Miki and Ginta said in unison.

	"Yes!"  The four parents said in unison.

	"Do tell," Arimi said coldly.

	Yuu started to speak, but Ginta stuffed a rice ball in 
his mouth.  "No, no, no," he said.  "Let's just forget it ever 
happened, okay?"  I will not mention Setsuna kissed me, Ginta 
thought.  I won't.  I won't.  Not if I want to live.  "We certainly 
haven't done anything like that in real life."

	"So what do you all think about the Tennis Warriors?" 
Guenevere switched the subject.

	"Are they a wrestling team?"  Jin asked.

	"I feel safer with them protecting our school," Miki 
said.  "Given all the monster attacks we've had.  And Tennis 
Warrior Moon is just so cool."

	"Mars is much cooler," Arimi said.

	"I think Jupiter is sort of cute, although she is kinda 
old," Ginta said.

	"Ahh, but some people say older women make better 
lovers," Yuu said.

	Miki and Arimi both frowned at the two guys, and Meiko 
giggled.  Meiko said, "I like Tennis Mask myself."

	"See?  Some people want a mature lover."

	The four parents whispered and laughed at that, 
obviously pleased. 

	Guenevere said, "So they really are real?  I thought 
someone was playing a prank on me."

	"They're quite real," Miki said.  "But don't worry, they 
keep everyone at Torio safe."  The parents all whispered and 
giggled, and Miki suddenly realized they were thinking this 
was all some elaborate joke on the foreign exchange student.  
Now I know why they haven't seemed worried about the 
monster attacks.   "Would you like to tell us about your 
home town?" She changed the subject.

	Guenevere launched into a long rambling monologue, 
while Miki contemplated whether and what to tell her parents 
about the monster attacks.  I can't hide it from them 
forever, she thought, but if they really believe it, 
they...they'll do something crazy.  Like trying to move us all 
to Hawaii.  

****************

	"Welcome to Studio Wombat," Suzu said to Miki and 
Meiko as they came in the front door and looked around 
nervously.  "They're with me," she said to the receptionist.

	"I'll pray for their souls," the brunette replied.

	Meiko smiled, while Miki blinked and Suzu frowned.  
"Don't you have work to do?"

	"No."

	Suzu stared blankly for a few seconds, then sniffed 
loudly and turned to her friends.  "This way!"

	She lead them around the studio, showing off the 
various artists hard at work drawing, the computer room 
where various CGI experts were hard at work producing 
computer animation of a cow mutating into chocolate milk, 
and through a gallery of cels from various shows the studio 
had done like 'Dread Pirate Bailesu', 'Senior Citizens from 
Space', 'Chocolatey Mami',  and 'Magical Knights Rayovac'.  

	"Oooh, a cel of Chocolatey Mami from the Chocolatey 
Mami vs. Strawberry Shortcake movie!"  Miki said.  "I wish I 
could have it!"

	"You can probably get a print at the studio store," 
Suzu said.  "I'll see if I can get them to make you one if not."

	"Thanks!  I really loved this show when I was little."  
She struck a pose as if she was holding a long baton.  
"Chocolatey Power, Make Me Big!"  She swung the invisible 
baton upwards.  "And then she'd turn into a grownup."

	"Didn't work for you, I see," a fairly flat young male 
voice said.  He was standing a few feet away, pushing his 
unkempt blond hair away from his eyes.  

	"Hayama-kun, don't make fun of her.  I'm sure she 
knows it was just a show.  And I like that show too!" a girl 
said quickly from behind him, soon coming into view.  Like 
him, she was around twelve years old, with red hair gathered 
into two short ponytails jutting out sideways above her ears.  
To Miki, she said, "Don't mind Hayama.  He's just a pain in the 
butt that I can't understand why I invited him to come to the 
studio to see me record my first episode of my new show!"  
She paused.  "I'm sorry, I'm starting to advertise myself 
again.  What's your name?  I'm Kurata Sana!"

	"I'm Koishikawa Miki.  Nice to meet you," Miki said.  
"And this is..."

	"YOU!  What are YOU doing in MY animation studio?"  
Suzu demanded, stepping forward.

	"Oh, were you here?" Sana said in a catty fashion. 
"I'm only here to record the show that will drive YOUR show 
off the air and back into the garbage can where it belongs!" 
She beamed, even as Hayama glanced upwards towards Suzu.  
"In a few weeks, you can go back to playing in the sandbox,
 and I'll just be busy making the very best show as only 
Sana-chan can!"

	Suzu glanced over at Hayama, who glanced back at her,
shrugged, and made a *bang* motion with one hand.

	"Hah!  No animated show that used your hideous 
screeching voice could POSSIBLY beat mine!"  Suzu turned to 
Meiko.  "Isn't my voice much more beautiful than hers?"

	"Not when you're shouting and carrying on like a five 
year old," Meiko replied.

	"I think you both have cute voices," Miki said.  "So what 
is your show going to be about, Sana?"

	"Today's photo of Sana-chan:," she said, then struck a
pose that Miki knew well.  "Tennis Warrior Moon!"

	Miki stared in shock, and Meiko laughed.  Miki said, "But 
she's real!  How can they do a show without her permission?"

	"Monsters aren't real.  Everybody knows that!" 
Sana said.  "And neither are the Tennis Warriors.  But it'll 
make for a great show.  And it's not like imaginary 
people can sue, are they, Hayama?"

	He looked over at Sana and nodded.

	"They're real!  And they'll end this ATROCITY!"  Suzu 
proclaimed.  "And I'll go get them!"

	Meiko grabbed her by the collar as she began to storm 
off.  "Calm down, Suzu."  She turned to Sana.  "Can you show 
us any of the work they're doing on it?  I'm curious to see 
what they think Tennis Warrior Moon should look like."

	Sana said, "I'd be happy to!  C'mon, Suzu, we have to 
show you how NEAT my show is! You can show me your little skit
later!"

	Suzu ground her teeth and followed along with the 
others.

****************

	>Is Meiko the Princess?

	[RICH YOUNG HEIRESSES ARE OFTEN CALLED 
PRINCESSES.]

	>Is Meiko the Princess of the Moon?

	[PLEASE ENTER YOUR PIN NUMBER]

	>I don't have a PIN number!

	[I GUESS YOU'RE UP A CREEK, THEN]

	>Why do you make everything so difficult?

	[IT'S A KNACK]

	Nanami fought to resist the urge to smash her 
computer to flinders.  

	Makoto looked thoughtful.  "I've got an idea," he said.

	"Go for it," she said, getting up from her desk and 
letting him sit down at it.

	>Search for Moon Princess

	[START SEARCH WITH?]

	>Akizuki Meiko

	[DAMN YOU FOR BEING CLEVER]

	>Get to it.

	[PRINCESS FOUND]

	"Stupid thing.  It could have told us before this!"  
Nanami shook her fist at it.  "You could have saved us a lot 
of time!"

	[YOU NEVER ASKED THE RIGHT WAY]

	
**************

	Meiko looked at another character sketch and laughed.  
"This one has Tennis Warrior Moon smacking herself with her 
own racket," she said, showing everyone.  

	"Well, rackets aren't exactly designed for combat," the 
animator, Hashimoto Kenji, a pudgy blond man in an ill-fitting 
suit said.  "Plus, everyone knows she's a total klutz."

	"I am NOT a total clutz!"  Miki said.  

	Meiko smiled impishly.  "He's talking about Tennis 
Warrior Moon, not you."

	"But...oh, right."

	"Hey, she looks suspiciously like Sana," Suzu said, 
looking at a set of profiles pinned up over the man's desk.

	"Well, no one knows what she really looks like, and 
since Sana-chan already has high recognition value, it makes 
sense.  The same reason we made Softball Warrior V look 
like you."

	"Yes, but with such an ugly lead character, no one will 
want to watch it.  Unless maybe you call it Tennis Warrior 
Monkey Girl and make it a comedy," Suzu said.  

	Hayama wandered over and looked at another sketch 
and frowned.  "Who's this?" he asked, pointing at a young 
blonde boy shown in one sketch with 'Tennis Warrior Sana', in 
civilian clothing.

	"Her younger brother, who is a major pain in 
the...rear...for her," Kenji said.  "Utterly worthless, 
constantly depressed, causes her all sorts of trouble to get 
attention."

	Hayama might have fumed at that, but it was hard to 
tell at the best of times if he was ecstatically happy or 
terminally depressed.

	"Causing trouble to get attention is more Sana's line of 
work, though," Suzu said.  "And she's still ugly."

	"At least I'm not an over-the-hill dried up old PRUNE like 
you,"  Sana said.  "And you calling me ugly is like a cow calling 
a horse black!"

	There was a brief moment of silence.

	"That's a pot calling a kettle black," Meiko said.  "Now, 
you two shouldn't fight.  Isn't there enough work for both of 
you?"

	"Rei-kun always finds me plenty of work," Sana said.

	Suzu grabbed Hayama by the hand.  "You won't be needing him,
then, with your boyfriend as your manager."

	Hayama stared at Suzu.

	"Hey, don't grab him!  And Rei-kun's not my boyfriend anymore!"  
She grabbed Hayama's other hand.

	As Miki and Meiko looked on, they started to tug of war Hayama
back and forth, while he alternated between staring at each of them.  
This gradually got wilder and wilder, as they began to move further and
further with each tug, and quickly Sana backed into the desk, causing it 
to topple, sending sketches everywhere.  

	Kenji began running about, trying to save the sketches, while
Miki and Meiko tried to free Hayama before he ended up like a wishbone.
With some effort, Miki managed to pry Sana's hands from Hayama's left
arm, while Meiko pulled Suzu away from his right arm.

	"Your mother is a bleached blonde!"  Sana shouted at Suzu.  "You
look like a canary!"

	"YOUR mother has a squirrel in her hair!  What is she, a tree?  I 
guess that makes you a shrub!  Gonna keep a gerbil in yours?"

	Hayama looked back and forth between them, not moving, as the
insults flew past him.

	"Now, stop being idiots," Meiko snapped, her temper 
coming out.  "You're carrying on like children."

	"Ah, there you are," the receptionist said, levelling a 
small golden crystal.  "You must have snuck in without me 
noticing."  The crystal fired a beam, which to her surprise 
split, striking Sana and Hayama.  They both glowed and began 
to transform, growing to a good six feet tall and visibly 
aging.  

	At the same time, a ring burst from each of them's 
forehead and began to fly towards the receptionist.  Kenji 
ran for his life, and Meiko let go of Suzu.  "I think we're in 
trouble," she said.

	"You've got that right," the receptionist said.  "Gloom!  
Don't let any of them leave!"

	The aged Hayama, stared at them intently, now turned 
into a larger, stronger, version of himself dressed all in 
black and wearing a silver ankh, his face painted white like a 
mime and his blonde hair turned black.

	They found themselves unable to move, or call for 
help, or do anything but listen to every song by the Cure 
they'd ever heard repeating itself inside their heads.  

	Meanwhile, Miki and the transformed Sana, now clad in 
a red bodysuit with a yellow lightning bolt on a white circle on 
her chest, rolled about as Miki tried to keep her hold on 
Sana.  Sana, now become Speed, simply vibrated right 
through Miki's grasp.  She then shouted something that no 
one could hear because the entire twenty sentence speech 
lasted only a second and took place at frequencies which 
only a dog could hear.

	The two rings were about to land in the receptionist's 
hands.  "Excellent.  General Zwei-lite will be pleased to have 
the rings of Saturn and Pluto.  Strange, this has been much 
easier than he thought it would be."

	Then a golf ball struck the rings.  The ring of Saturn 
simply fell into the receptionist's hands, but the ring of Pluto 
arced off and landed in Meiko's hands.  "That's because the 
game isn't over until the last birdie," the Masked Golfer said.  
Well, one of them did.  This particular one had longer hair 
than the usual dark haired model, and was accompanied by 
Artemis, who leaped onto Gloom, disrupting his 
concentration.

	Soon, Artemis fell to the ground, whimpering about 
Robert Plant, but Meiko and Suzu were free to run.  

	"Run!  I'll cover your retreat," the Masked Golfer said.  
"Get the Tennis Warriors!"

	"But we..."  Suzu began.

	Meiko simply dragged her into motion; arguing with 
Suzu tended to be like trying to make water flow uphill with a 
small pyramid.
	
**************

	Several vehicles roared into the studio ten parking lot 
at once.  Makoto said for the twentieth time this trip, "I 
think borrowing my dad's car was a bad idea."

	"Hey, you didn't wreck it, so it's okay," Nanami said, 
jumping out.  "Besides, he wasn't using it."

	"He's going to stomp me flat," Makoto said gloomily.

	"I'll tell him it was my fault," she said.  "Keep the 
engine running, in case we need a getaway car, okay?" she 
said as they pulled up near the front door.

	Nearby, Ryoko's car pulled up into a parking space, and 
she and Arimi got out, running over to Makoto's father's 
Toyota.  "Come on, we need to hurry," Arimi said.

	Nearby, a golf cart driven by Masked Golfer I (the blond 
one), and being ridden in by Masked Golfer II drove in through 
the front doors, which swung open to accomodate it, and 
right through the empty reception area.

	"We need a Tennis Warrior van," Arimi decided, 
watching it go.

	"We'd need a budget for that," Nanami said, getting out 
of the car.  "Let's go, Joe!"

	"Who's Joe?"  Arimi asked Ryoko as they ran after her.

	"I'm not sure, but he often solicits people to eat at his 
place," Ryoko said, shrugging.  

*************

	"Kill the Masked Golfer!"  the youma receptionist 
commanded Speed.

	Speed, however, couldn't hear and comprehend 
anything said that slowly.  Instead, she paused for a 
spontaneous rap, then began to flit around the room, poking 
into everything.  Then she said, "Ahah!  I think I'll go destroy 
Suzu!"  Sadly, this took about three nanoseconds to say, and 
thus no one else could understand or even notice it.  She 
sprinted off.  
		
	The youma receptionist sighed, and walked over to the 
Masked Golfer III.  Transforming into her monster form, 
which looked much the same, except for having rugose off-
mauve skin riddled with veins visibly pumping green ichor, 
she said, "I'll just kill you myself."

	However, when she got close enough to kill them, she 
was caught in Gloom's power, only able to think about how 
every youma that faced the Tennis Warriors died.  The song 
'Suicide is Painless' began to drift through her mind.  Unable 
to move, she was still there when Zwei-lite walked in.

	He shook his head.  "Caught by Gloom, I see.  Quite a 
potent power, he has, does he not?"

	She would have answered him, but there was no point 
to it.

	He walked closer.  "Despair is the mindkiller; only those 
who have faced it and won can avoid Gloom's power."

	He walked over to her and took the ring of Saturn 
from her hands.  "I faced despair before I came to Beryl's 
service, and I have since overcome it, though perhaps not in 
ways she would fully appreciate.  Hmm, I see you lost one of 
them."

	Speed zipped by, pausing to check inside Zwei-lite's 
pockets.  "Nope, no Suzu."  She zipped off.

	"Hmm, I see that pure stupidity also protects one," he 
said.  "Well, this will have to do.  The laws of drama try to 
restrict those of our kind from achieving more than partial 
victories.  I believe that allowing you to be destroyed and the 
Dooms liberated should sate the laws' hunger for my blood.  
They are fair, but ruthless, so I must be moreso to 
overcome them. "

	He looked over at Gloom.  "And I fear I would soon find 
myself too depressed, having him around."  He laughed and 
began to walk away.  "Don't worry, I will praise your valor to 
Beryl; you will be remembered well."

	His laughter echoed in her ears, drowning out 'Don't 
Fear the Reaper', which was now being played by her own 
mental DJ.  She wasn't sure which was worse.

************

	"Moon SLAM!"

	"Burning Passion Serve!"

	"Power Serve!"

	"Game Called on Account of Rain!"

	"FORE!"

	More balls than he knew what to do with pelted Gloom, 
who quickly collapsed under the assault, turning back into 
Hayama.  This freed the youma receptionist, who simply 
raised her arms.  "I surrender!"

	"Really?"  Masked Golfer III asked.

	"No, I lied to gain time," she said, then vanished in a 
teleportation flicker.

	Couldn't she have just done that in the first place?, he 
asked himself.  He then turned to the others, looking around.  
"Zwei-lite was here; he took the other ring.  Where's Meiko?"

	"Super Sized Venus is taking her out to the car where 
she'll be safe," Tennis Warrior Moon said, then looked at 
Hayama.  "I hope he's going to be okay."

	"We've got to find Speed," Jupiter said.  "Can you find 
her with your computer, Mercury?"

	"The problem isn't finding her; it's that she never 
stays in one place for long.  Right now, she's heading for 
the...lobby."

	"The car's right out front!"  Tennis Warrior Moon said.  
"She could stumble onto Meiko."

	"And Makoto-chan!"  Mercury said in a moment of 
panic.  "Let's go!"

**************

	Meiko walked as fast as she could, clutching the ring of 
Pluto.  I should have thought to give this to Miki, she 
thought.  It would be safer than it is with me.  Or maybe I 
should have Super Size Venus hold onto it.  "Do you..." she 
began.

	Then a red blur ran by, shouting something incoherent.  
It paused and came back around, slowing down enough to be 
recognizable as Speed.  Before Super Size Venus could 
react, she charged forward, unleashing a barrage of punches 
at Meiko, who closed her eyes and winced.

	Speed went right through Meiko, still not used to her 
powers, and having gone so fast she simply vibrated right 
through her without impacting her at all.  She made forty 
more passes, still not quite able to get enough of a grip on 
her abilities to stop phasing through everything.

	Meiko closed her eyes and prayed, wishing she had 
some sort of power, something she could do to stop Speed 
before the girl learned to stop vibrating through her and 
really do some damage.  She could hear Super Size Venus 
leaping about, trying to intercept the attacks and flailing 
about with the Love-Me Neuronic Whip.  But Speed was too 
quick for her.

	The ring dug into her hands, and she realized she had 
it.  Quickly putting it on, she told it to do something, 
anything, to stop Speed.  Help me, she begged.  

	And a voice answered, her mother's voice, but lighter 
and more joyous than Meiko could remember ever hearing it, 
except on a handful of rare ocassions whose memory she 
treasured like diamonds.  I cannot help you, she said, but I 
can tell you how to help yourself.  But I warn you, if you 
begin down this road, there is no turning back.

	She heard Super Size Venus howl, and took a peek.  
SSV was rolling around on the floor with Speed, who was 
punching her repeatedly, having apparently finally gotten the 
knack of what she was doing.

	For a moment, Meiko just wanted to crumple up into a 
ball, or run away before Speed could turn her attention 
Meiko's way.  She felt utterly powerless, but then she came 
back to herself.  I don't care about the cost, I have to save 
Suzu.

	The voice took on a note of pride to go with its joy.  I 
knew I could count on you, she said.

	Meiko winced; her mother never sounded like that to 
her, and being reminded of it hurt.  She had long craved 
hearing her mother address her in that way, then given up on 
it, but now...  She refused to wallow in self-pity.  Tell me 
what to do, she said to the woman who sounded like her 
mother.

	Tell the ring to call upon Pluto's power and slow Speed 
down to normal.  Speed was created to slay Tennis Warrior 
Pluto by forcing her to stop time in order to defeat her...or 
so Beryl hoped.  But Beryl never really understood anything 
she was doing, the voice said.  But you must do it swiftly, my 
beloved daughter.

	Meiko nodded and opened her eyes.  Speed was 
swinging Super Size Venus around by her hair, while Venus 
screamed in pain.  Meiko couldn't believe Venus' hair hadn't 
come ripping out by now, especially since Speed was swinging 
around faster and faster.  

	Taking a deep breath, Meiko shouted, "I CALL UPON THE 
POWER OF PLUTO TO SLOW SPEED DOWN!"  A reddish-purple 
nimbus surrounded her, and upon her brow the sigil of Pluto 
blazed brightly.  As she pointed at Speed, the nimbus formed 
into a serpent and struck at Speed's feet.  They slowed 
faster than the rest of Speed did, causing her to fall and 
twist her ankle.  

	Speed lost her grip on Super Size Venus, who went 
flying into a wall.  At the same time, the Tennis Warriors and 
Masked Golfers drove up in the extremely crowded cart.  
They poured out like debarking clowns.  

	"You shoved your elbow in my face!"  Super Size Mars 
snapped at Tennis Warrior Moon.

	"Maybe if you hadn't decided to Super Size yourself 
while we were in transit, it wouldn't have happened!"  Tennis 
Warrior Moon fired back.

	"Maybe we should beat Speed first, okay?"  The Masked 
Golfer said.

	Meiko advanced on Speed, who tried to stand up, but 
couldn't.  The nimbus of Pluto power still surrounded her, 
and the serpent arched upward from her left hand, on which 
she wore the ring.  She offered her right hand.  "The game is 
over, Sana," she said.  "Come back to us.  I'm sorry I hurt 
your ankle."

	Speed looked at her, then over at Super Size Venus 
and the snoozing Hayama on the cart.  She tried to say 
something, but all anyone could catch was something about 
'pimp'.  Then she dwindled, turning into Sana, who fell into 
Meiko's arms, wincing in pain.  "I don't understand," she said.  
"My ankle!  Did Suzu do this to me?"

	The nimbus of power faded as Meiko lifted Sana off 
the ground and carried her over towards the cart.  "No, I'm 
afraid it's my fault.  I didn't quite know what I was doing."

	The third Masked Golfer put a hand on her shoulder.  
"You did very well."

	"Thank you," she said.

	Tennis Mask rushed in through the doors.  "My stupid 
car broke down on the way here!  I had to run the last 
quarter mile, and it's blocking traffic."  He sighed, then his 
eyes widened.  "Hey, what happened to her?"

	"I had to break up a fight," Meiko said.  

	"How did you do that?"  Tennis Warrior Moon asked her, 
helping her set Sana down next to Hayama.  

	"My mother told me what to do," Meiko said softly.

	"Your mother?"  Masked Golfer III asked in surprise.

	"It sounded like her, anyway," Meiko said.  

	Across the room, Super Size Mars caught Masked 
Golfer II as he began to slip off.  "Not this time you don't!  
You've got to let us know who you are!"

	"Must...slip...off...to...drag...out...mystery..." he 
mumbled.

	"I think not."  She reached over and ripped off his 
mask.  His golfing costume dissolved away, becoming normal 
clothing and revealing him to be Ginta.  "Ginta!"

	He blinked and rubbed his eyes.  "This isn't K-mart."

	"You're the second masked Golfer!"

	Artemis popped up, sensing a need for exposition.  
"The Earth was defended by a golfing foursome, so I would 
expect that there's a fourth one, too.  Plus, it's possible 
that the Prince of the Earth has been reborn, and he might 
be running about as a Masked Golfer as well.  He was the 
Moon Princess' lover, before everyone died."

	"Did they have some sort of codenames?  All this 
Masked Golfer I, II, III is starting to confuse me,"  Super Size 
Mars said.

	"Hey, is that cat talking?"  Ginta asked in disbelief.

	"It just gets stranger from here," Artemis said.  
"Anyway, most of the Earth's Golfers were dating various 
Tennis Warriors before the big whoops.  Now, as to figuring 
out who was who... Mars was seeing Vulcan, Jupiter was 
seeing Zeus, Mercury was dating Hermes, Prince Endymion 
and Princess Serenity were lovers, and Moon was frequently 
caught smooching Orion."

	"Sounds like a soap," Super Size Mars said.

	"Anyway, I'd guess you're Vulcan," Artemis said to 
Ginta.

	"But I don't have pointed ears," he replied.  "And I don't 
feel very logical."

	"So what was Endymion like?"  Meiko asked Artemis.

	"All I can remember is darkish hair, and he was older 
than you."

	Masked Golfer III and Tennis Mask both smiled.  

	Then all the alarms in the building started going off.

	"Time for us to amscray," Masked Golfer III said.  "All 
aboard to take our injured superstar to a doctor."

	"Why thanks," Venus said, "But I don't need one."

	"I was talking about Sana, actually," Masked Golfer III 
said.  "But you can come too."

	Venus frowned as they all piled on and pulled out.

**************

 	"So, where you able to transform when you wanted to, 
or did it just happen?"  Miki asked Yuu once they were all 
back at their house.

	"It just happened while I was on my way to work.  Then 
Golfer Vulcan showed up."  Yuu shook his head.  "That just 
sounds silly."

	Meiko, who was seated next to Miki on Miki's bed while 
Yuu sat at Miki's desk, said, "Well, maybe he's Vulcan.  We 
can't be sure everything will play out the same way it did 
before.  We need to learn more about what their powers 
were like."

	"That's true," Miki said.  "That would let us tell."  She 
thought for a little while, then said, "And I guess you must 
either be Tennis Warrior Pluto or the Moon Princess, since 
you were able to use the ring like that, Meiko."

	Meiko, who was wearing the gold band, which had a 
garnet  set in it, said, "I wonder if the voice I heard was 
Queen Serenity.  But she sounded like my mother."

	From the floor, Luna said, "Perhaps that's a result of 
mingling of memories.  It could be a sign your memories will 
begin to awaken.  Although the Tennis Warriors haven't 
recovered all their memories."

	"I just have bursts of memory at times," Miki said.  
"Like remembering riding a horse through a great forest of 
trees with silver leaves."

	"Or seeing the Earth from space," Yuu said.  "And 
watching it recede.  I dreamed that last night."

	If I'm the Moon Princess, then Na-chan must be 
Endymion reborn, Meiko thought.  "So what was Endymion 
like, Luna?"

	"Very cocky and sure of himself.  A bit arrogant, but 
also very loyal.  He spent two years winning over Princess 
Serenity; it wasn't easy.  She hated him at first, but 
eventually, he broke down her defenses.  I remember the 
first time I met him, she'd just thrown him out a window into 
the great reflecting pool."

	"..."  Miki stared at Luna in shock.  "You're kidding."

	"It ruined his clothing, too, since they hadn't cleaned 
the algae out of the pool recently enough.  He got up, got 
new clothing, went back, and took another bath that day.  It 
was definitely an uphill battle to love."

	Then again, maybe it's not Na-chan, Meiko thought, 
then frowned and shook her head.  Our love is destined, she 
thought.  It has to be.  And surely he can't be one of the 
other guys.  A tiny voice nagged at her as to how Luna's 
description fit someone else she knew, but she stomped on 
it until it passed out.  He has to be Na-chan.  Has to be.  

***********

	"Grounded?  But I didn't do anything!"  Nanami said to 
her father.

	"Mizuhara-san chewed my ear off for a half hour over 
you and Makoto's little escapade.  I had half a mind to whip 
you for an hour, but your mother convinced me a month's 
grounding would be better.  I don't know what gets into you 
two when you're together.  But I'm not taking any chances on 
you disappearing like your lunatic brother.  I wish I knew 
where he was...so I could whip him too.  Now, go to your room 
and be miserable."  Her father raised the newspaper, and 
Nanami knew her audience was over.  

	She sighed and headed for her room to do homework.  I 
hope Makoto didn't get in too much trouble.

*************

	"Hmm, no damage at all.  And you filled it up," Makoto's 
father said.

	"That was Nanami's idea."

	"The girl has no common sense, but is sometimes 
clever," Mizuhara Taiki, a middle-aged salaryman, said.  "Well, 
since no damage was done, I'm only grounding you for two 
months.  You'll come straight home from school, and you're 
not going anywhere else without a chaperone."

	"Yes sir," he said, feeling relief it hadn't been worse.

	His father stared at him sternly, then softened.  "Did 
you have a good time with your girlfriend?"

	"She's not my girlfriend," he said, feeling embarrassed.

	"Uh huh."

	Makoto wasn't really sure how he felt about Nanami.  
She was certainly his closest friend, but whether you'd call it 
love in a romantic sense was another matter.  She was cute, 
but she didn't make his blood race or his soul soar.  But at 
the same time, it seemed natural to be around her, to do 
things with her, and probably no one else really understood 
him like she did.  

	She's going to go nuts, stuck in her house, he thought.  
Although her nutcase parents may decide tomorrow that 
they approve of running off in other people's cars and 
unground her.  You never could be sure what they would do.  
He often wondered how she'd managed to stay sane, living 
with them.

	"I will miss Nanami, though."

	"Well, if she wants to come over and study, I might say 
yes if you clear it first," Taiki said.  "Because I wouldn't wish 
several months with her parents on anyone."

	"Me neither."

****************

	

	

John Walter Biles :  MA-History, ABD, Ph.D Candidate at U. Kansas         
ranma@falcon.cc.ukans.edu       
rhea@tass.org              http://www.tass.org/~rhea/falcon.html
rhea@maison-otaku.net      http://www.maison-otaku.net/~rhea/

"The connection is so abstract, that we have people whose job 
it is to make sure the paperwork doesn't get totally disconnected 
from the world.  Theoretically, I handle millions of dollars a day, 
but it is less real than this e-mail. I have never seen our product. 
I have never seen the sales people.  I have never seen a customer."
--Robert Lane describes his work as an accountant.




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