HOT CONTROVERSY, PART 4
A Sailor Moon Sekkushiaru Roman
By Sailor Mac

MINA
 	Only two days until he comes here. Two days. . .and it feels like forever.
 	I'm sitting in the temple, listening to Luna go on and on about something
or other. I don't really care what she's talking about. Not when Glen is
about to come back to Japan. . .
 	It's been too long since I saw him last. That's the only bad part of our
relationship. We can almost never see each other. He's in England, I'm in
Japan. You do the math.
 	And now, the wait is almost over. Today is Wednesday. Endless Wednesday.
Sat in school for what felt like a week, and now I'm here at my Sailor
Soldier meeting. . .which feels like it's taking another week.
 	I want it to be Friday, right now. I want to be at the airport picking
him up. But Friday feels years and years away, and I think I'm going to be
 stuck in this temple forever.
 	Just thinking about it makes my head hurt. . .
 	No, wait. That's Artemis pulling my hair.
 	"MINA!" he whispers. "Will you pay attention? Luna just asked you 
something!"
 	"Um. . ." I look around at the others, hoping that one of them will give
 me a clue as to what was just asked. None of them seem to be giving me any
help at all.
 	"Mina," Luna is saying, "honestly, you can't be an effective soldier if
 you keep floating off into space like this! You have to stay focused!"
 	I *am* focused. Right now, I'm focused on Glen.
 	"What was the question again?"
 	Luna gives a big sigh. "Have you had any sense of impending danger at 
all?"
 	"No. Nothing." And I usually don't, even when there's an enemy around.
Not like Raye or Darien does.
 	"She probably can't pick up on it," Raye says. "It's a very faint feeling
 of danger, like it's still a ways off yet. . ."
	"Have any of you heard any rumors of strange, unexplained things
happening? Seen anything particularly strange?"
	All of us shake our heads, and Lita says, "If anything. . .it's been
unusually *quiet* lately."
 	"Nonetheless," Luna says, "I want all of you to be on your guard.
Whatever it is Raye is sensing could show up any day now."
	"Luna," Artemis says, "I really don't see what you're basing this on. So
Raye has a few vague premonitions. . .that doesn't necessarily mean
disaster is going to strike tomorrow."
 	"Would you rather do the opposite?" she snaps back. "I don't want the
girls caught with their guard down while something starts wreaking havoc
all over the place!"
	"I really don't think this is a *red alert* situation, Luna!" Raye says.
"Just. . .something to keep in the back of our minds."
	Meanwhile, I can hear Artemis mumble under his breath, "Paranoid. . .:"
 	This doesn't bother me in the least. If she says it's a way off. . .it's
a way off. I'm not worried about it. Luna goes on talking. . .I take a
cookie off the plate and look around at the others. Serena looks like she'd
rather be at the arcade or at Darien's or at the arcade *with* Darien. Raye
and Lita are paying attention. Amy. . .Amy looks far away. Like she's not
concentrating. Amy looks like that a *lot* lately. That's not like her. I'm
kinda worried. . .when I try to talk to her about it, she acts like
nothing's wrong, even though I know something is.
	Wonder if anyone else has noticed anything about Amy? Nobody has said
anything. Of course, Lita might have a reason for being in her own world. .
.she and Ken were having problems a couple of weeks back. Maybe I should
have her talk to Amy. . .
	The meeting's breaking up now, I get up, collect Artemis and head for the 
door.
 	"Where do you want to go now?" I ask the others. I don't want to go home,
not yet.
 	"Sorry -- I have to go to the library," Amy says. (Is she avoiding me? Is
she afraid I'm going to start asking questions again?)
 	"I have to stay here," Raye says. "Stuff to do for Grandpa. . ."
 	"My aunt and uncle are coming over for dinner," says Serena. "I have to
come straight home from here."
 	"I can go out for awhile," says Lita. "Want to go to Crown Cafe?"
 	"Sounds good to me."
 	We say goodbye to the others and start off. "I think Luna's overreacting," 
Lita says. "From what Raye said. . ."
 	"I didn't even hear what Raye said," I reply.
 	Lita gives me a knowing smile. "Somebody's distracted."
 	"You can say that again," Artemis says. I shove him back down in his=
 basket.
 	"Well, I have. . .a special weekend coming up."
 	"Ah. Having a visit?"
 	"Yes!" I reply, almost dancing with happiness.
 	"I think it's great you two can have a long-distance relationship. I
don't know if I'd be able to do that. Ken has always lived near me, all my
life."
	I wonder, sometimes, how *I'm* able to do it. What would our relationship
be like if we lived closer, I wonder? Would we be closer than we are now?
Or would we start taking each other for granted? I know Lita mentioned
she'd had problems like that with Ken a short time ago.	 		"Where 
is Ken,
anyway? Isn't Wednesday normally one of the nights you have dinner
together?"
 	"Postponed until tomorrow. This is one of the few nights he's been able
to get together with David lately. David's been so busy. . ."
 	We reach the cafe, and head for our regular booth. "Who's David?"
 	"Friend of his, lives in the apartment complex next door. Runs a group
called the Freedom League. He's heavily involved in that pornography thing
at Darien's college."
 	Pornography thing. . .pornography thing. . .oh, yeah! I remember now.  .
 .the stories about Amy. . .and then the controversy. . .
 	The whole thing doesn't bother me. I don't care one way or another what
they want to post about me on their Web site. I have better things to think
about. Like my relationship with Glen. And school. And whether I'll ever be
able to get the top score on that driving game.
 	"He's fighting against porn?"
 	"Good Gods, no! He's very much for preserving free speech. Kind of a
 stuffed shirt, but a decent guy."
 	"Didn't Raye say something about meeting someone else involved in that?
Lori something?"
 	Lita laughs. "That's one name you don't want to say around David. The two
of them are sworn enemies."
 	"Enemies?"
 	"Lori's the leader of the anti-smut movement. Ken said that David's
almost obsessed with her and the gang she's built up around her. He said
she must have half the campus on her side now. . .even people you'd never
expect to be involved in something like that, like jocks and computer
geeks. . .and it's driving David nuts."
 	"Really?"
 	"Oh, yeah. He talks about her all the time, says she's a constant
headache, that she seems like a decent person but her values are all wrong.
. ."
	"And what do you think?"
	"I think she's a real troublemaker, a real pain in the butt. She just
doesn't seem to be the kind of person to leave well enough alone. I mean,
he just wanted to do this quietly at first. . .until she upped the ante.
Now she's driving half the people on campus nuts. . .David's kind of become
a spokesman for the people she's driven crazy."
 	Oooh. This is sounding more and more like he's some kind of a stalker. I
mean, if he was real quiet at first, and then just got really involved when
she started making a ruckus. . . I'll bet he got into it because he wants
to find out all about her, not  because he really believes in letting
everyone see girly mag-type stuff.
	Yeah, I'll bet that's it. . .I'll bet he's collecting all kinds of
information on her, pretending to be collecting into about "the enemy" . .
.
  	"He hangs around in here, sometimes," Lita says. "You could probably
meet him here tomorrow, if you wanted to.
 	Meet up with a sicko? No way! "Um, I think I'll take a pass. Doesn't
sound like my type of person."
 	"Well, I thought that way at first, too. . .but once you get to know him,
he's nice."
 	I just hope she's never alone with him without Ken there! Of course, if
anyone did anything to Lita, she'd probably knock him flat. . .
 	We finish our sodas and say our goodbyes. As I'm walking home, Artemis
pokes his head up. "Mina. . .you were much too fast to say you didn't want
to meet this David."
 	"I have a good reason not to! He sounds like a lunatic!"
  	"What makes you say that?"
 	"Well, Lita said he's obsessed with this Lori. Hey, I've watched enough 
cop shows on TV to know if a man's obsessed with a woman. . .he's a *stalker*!"
 	He heaves a deep sigh. "Mina, I've tried to tell you so many times. .
 .real life isn't like TV. It *is* possible he's just really devoted to his
cause."
 	"Oh, yeah? What impression did *you* get from what Lita was saying about 
him?"
 	There's a long moment of silence. And then, he says, "I didn't get much
of an impression about David himself. But I *have* heard plenty about the
cause he's invovled in. . .and I have my own opinions."
  	"*You* do?"
 	"I have eyes and ears, Mina. You can't get away from it, it's all around
 us. And I think it's all blown out of porportion. People are getting *far*
to worked up about a minor thing." He gives a big sigh. "Including Luna."
 	"Luna?"
 	"She's really into this. She talks about it all the time, about how that
Lori and her gang are out to strip everyone of their right to think and
speak freely. Quit  frankly. . .she's driving *me* nuts."
 	Wow. Even Luna, who usually thinks about nothing but where the next enemy
is coming from, is into this. . .Of course, the fact that she's seeing
enemies *everywhere* nowadays indicates that she's getting bored.
  	"I will admit," he says, "I'd be interested in knowing what makes this
David and Lori tick, why they do what they do. . .the behavior of humans
has always fascinated me. Especially the behavior of humans in an
unconventional situation. There must be something extraordinary in both
their natures to take it this far. I mean, it's up to the point now where
it's downright dangerous -- what if the entire campus is in an uproar while
some kind of crisis happens?"
  	"I think I know what makes David tick," I say. "He *ticks* because he's
*sick*!"
 	"I don't think so. I'd like to come here tomorrow with you and have you
meet him, just so I can see what he's all about."
 	"Sure. Have *me* put mysef at risk of being jumped by a psycho just
 because. . ."
 	"Oh, Mina! He's probably *not* a psycho! And even if he was, he wouldn't
hurt you in the middle of a crowded restaurant! And even if he *did* try. .
.you're
 a Sailor Soldier! You can beat the tar out of him!"
 	Geez, he must *really* want to meet this guy! Maybe Artemis is more into
this campus controversy than he's letting on. . .
	He gives me a kind-of-sad smile.  "Besides, I have something in common
with this David. I know how it feels to have to be in constant contact with
adomineering female."
 	Ouch, I thought. He can relate to David because of how he'd been
treatedby Luna. That's gotta hurt.
 	Fine, I'll come here tomorrow to meet David. It'll give me something to
do for an hour, at least, make the time go faster. . .
 	And if anything happens to me. . .it's all *Artemis'* fault!

 * * *
 AMY

 	I keep hoping that here in the library, I'll get a few moments peace and
quiet. It doesn't look like that's the case.
 	The table next to me is filled with college students. And they're talking
about the same thing all college students nowadays talk about, it seems.
 	"You're missing the point entirely!" one is saying. "Okay, so there's no
kiddie porn on the site. But that doesn't mean there's not OTHER stuff
that's just as sick and wrong. . ."
 	I'm sick of hearing about it all. I wish it would all just go away. But
it hasn't. Ever since the day I confronted that writer in the campus pub. .
.
 	It's not entirely my fault. No, the pornography issue was a powder keg
waiting to explode. The very fact that both the Freedom League and the
 women's group existed before this is a testimony to that. No, what
happened with me and the writer just provided the spark to make it explode.
. .
 	That still doesn't change the fact that I confronted the guy, in public.
I let my desire for revenge overwhelm my better judgement. And the result
has literally been chaos.
 	But maybe they *need* this. Maybe this is a positive thing for the
college. It's helping them get a lot of unaired grievances out in public.
Maybe this will lead to better communication, a stronger, more unified
student body. . .
 	I hear someone at the next table say a word you usually don't encounter
outside graffitti on bathroom walls, loudly. He gathers up his things and
stalks out. And I want to crawl under the table again, overwhelmed with
"it's all my fault!" feelings.
 	Nonsense, I think. Anything that extreme has got to be the symptom of a
deeper problem. There's no *way* I could be responsible for that! The porn
controversy is just a convenient mirror for them to project their troubles
onto. . .
 	Time to go home. I gather up my books and rush out, avoiding looking at
the people at that table.
 	All the way through dinner, I have thoughts churning through my head. Why
did I confront that guy in public? Why couldn't I leave well enough alone?
Revenge has never been my thing. . .at least not revenge on anything that's
not a youma, or a droid, or a daimon. . .And even *that* used to grate on
my conscience, the fact that *I*, of all people, was forced to be violent.
It used to make me depressed, sometimes, and withdrawn. . .
	But this. . .this coldhearted revenge on this guy. . .this wasn't
evenofficial Sailor Soldier business. Has having been a Sailor
Soldierdesensitized me to hurting others?
  	No, nothing like that.  It was understandable, considering what
hadhappened to me. And if I hadn't confronted him in public. . .one of
theother subjects of one of the other stories would have confronted its
author. . .right?
 	Afterwards, I decide to call Adam before starting in on the homework. I
could definitely bear to hear the sound of his voice right now!
 	I get the cordless phone, settle in at my desk and dial his number. He
picks up almost instantly.
 	"Hello?"
 	"Hi, hon, it's me."
 	"Hi, Girl Genius! How's it going?"
 	"All right. How's it going with you?"
 	"Same old stuff. All day long, people fighting about the smut thing. .
.some member of David's group almost got in a fistfight with one of Lori's
people in the cafeteria. Now the dean is threatening to call off the
election until things calm down. . .hey, what's the big sigh for?"
  	I wasn't even aware I had sighed. "I'm just tired of hearing about it,
that's all."
 	"Oh, yeah, we all are. Tell ya what, why don't we make a deal. . .I won't
talk about it if you won't."
 	"Okay," I say, even though part of me wants to keep talking about it, the
part of me that won't stop saying 'My Gods, what have I done?'"
 	He wants to talk about something light and humorous, it seems, so I talk
about Raye's recent fascination with this yaoi manga. These two rock
musicans named Dex and Cory are falling in love. . .but Cory panics, tells
Dex he really doesn't love him and takes up with a woman. . .Dex is almost
falling over himself to get Cory back. . .Cory is in deep denial about
being gay. . .and in the most recent installment, Dex was considering
taking up with another man just to make Cory jealous. . .
 	He laughs. "Sounds like a major soap opera. I didn't think that kind of
thing was Raye's style."
 	"Neither did I. . .until now."
 	"Seems all your friends can be full of surprises."
 	"Oh, they can." Except me, I think. Everyone else seems to be going
through changes right now, but for me. . .things are no different. I'm
constantly holding part of myself back, I know, and I'm begining to wonder
if I'm boring him. . .but if I don't hold something back, I know I'm going
to betray my feelings, let my guilt out where the whole world can see .
	"Well, I'm going to let you get to your books. . .are you sure you're
okay, hon? You sound like something's wrong."
 	"Oh, no, I'm fine.  . .just tired, that's all."
 	"Ok. You know I'm always willing to listen if you want to talk."
 	"I know. Good night."
 	"Good night."
 	Talk? Maybe I should have talked to him about it, gotten it off my chest. 
. .
 	Ridiculous. It isn't my fault. I just happened to be in the wrong place
at the wrong time, that's all. . .
 	But as I start on the books, I find myself struggling to keep the guilt
at bay again.

 * * *
 MINA
 	As soon as the bell rings, I'm out of school like a shot. Yay, one more
 school day down, one more to go. . .
 	I make a pitstop at the house to collect Artemis. I'm going to keep my
promise to him that we'll go meet this David. I'd called Lita last night
and told her I'd changed my mind about him. . .she seemed surprised, but
was willing to arrange the meeting. (I already feel tense, ready to
transform at a moment's notice. . .if this guy tries *anything*. . .)
 	Oh, heck. . .I'm here even before Lita! I sit in the regular booth and
order a soda. Artemis pokes his head up. "We're early?"
 	"Guess so. You'll have to wait a bit longer to meet Mr. Stalker."
 	"MINA! I told you not to pre-judge him! He may turn out to be a very
nice. . ."
 	I gently push him back down in the basket. There's a few seconds of peace
and quiet. . .
	He and Luna are polar opposites, I swear. She's paranoid. . .and he's far
too trusting!
  	And then, I start picking up on the conversation going on in the next
booth. "You're kinda pushing yourself hard, dude. Why don't you take a
break? Let one of us handle it for awhile."
 	"No way! We've only got a couple weeks left until the election. I'll take
a break when it's all over. You don't see *Lori* taking a break, do you?"
 	My head snaps up. Is that him? Is it David?
 	"Yeah, well all I know is *she* doesn't look like she's going to keel
over most of the time. You do. Face it, David, you're burning your candle
at both ends, and you're going to burn yourself out."
 	Oh, yeah, it's him, all right! I sneak a glance over my shoulder. He
doesn't look like a maniac. He looks like a normal guy. . .wavy dark hair,
brown eyes that seem to droop a bit, wearing a sweatshirt from his college
and blue jeans. . .
 	Doesn't mean a thing. You know what they say. . .the cover of a book
makes a lousy judge. Or something.
	Where the heck is Lita? Did she get detention or something? This guy will
probably be gone by the time she shoes up. . .and then I'll have to listen
to Artemis complain about missing our opportunity to meet him. . .
 	Oh, heck. I'm not waiting. I'm going to get this over with. I get up and
 approach the booth.
 	"Hi!" I say. "Aren't you David Chase?"
 	His friend -- a beefy guy with long, dirty blonde hair -- says,
"Attracting groupies now, Dave?"
 	David doesn't seem to take kindly to this. He turns all kinds of colors,
glares at his friend, then says to me, "Yeah, I am. How did you know?"
 	"I'm a friend of a friend of yours. You know Ken, right? He's dating one
of my best friends."
 	"Oh, yeah. . .Lita, right? She's *really* nice. Won't you have a seat?"
Well, he seems pleasant. . .so far. A lot of psychos seem pleasant at
first.
 	"Thanks," I say, and slide into the booth opposite him. Oh, how I wish I
could say to him, "Don't even think of anything, pal. . .I'm a Sailor
Soldier!"
 	But instead, I say, "Lita told me you're really into the pro-free speech
thing at the college. How did you get into it?"
 	"Well, I'd been involved with the Freedom League for awhile. We've been
involved in human rights work for a couple of years. And then, this porn
controversy started. . .somebody was challenging the basic human rights of
students, and I wasn't going to sit still for it."
 	"Somebody?"
 	"Our competition," he says with a smile. "A girl named Lori."
 	I watch his face as he mentions her. Is that a little spark of. .
 .sick obsession? Twisted love? (Or are they just glazed from overwork?
Come to think of it, I've seen that look on Amy's face more than once. . .)
 	"Lori? She's into censorship?"
 	"She's a hardcore feminist. And she's gathered this tribe of followers
around her. They're out to stomp out all erotic material, no matter whether
it may have any artistic merit."
 	"Really?" I say. "She sounds like a real. . .witch!"
 	"Well, let's just say she's got the wrong ideas, and she goes out of her
way to promote them. It's quite an effort trying to keep up with her."
 	Hmm, I think. . .he's devoting all his energy to *her*, it seems. . .
"What kind of thing does she do?"
 	"What kind of thing *doesn't* she do? It seems like she's everywhere at
once, all the time. She's all around campus, talking people up. . .she's on
the college radio station. . .she's holding court in the pub. . ."
 	Ha! He seems to know wherever she is at any given moment! Does this guy
have *any* life of his own? "Pub? She campaigns in bars?" I say.
 	"No, no," David says quickly. "The pub is a snack bar we have on campus."
 	"Where most of us do our serious eating, because the food in the
cafeteria is like eating boiled sneakers," his friend says.
 	Hmm, I think. . .he doesn't seem *crazy*. . .but he's definitely
obsessed. He talks abut her all the time, all right.
 	I wonder. . .who is this Lori? What makes *her* do the things *she* does?
Suddenly, I'm very curious. I want to meet her, as well. After all, David
*did* turn out to be a nice guy. . .maybe she's the same way?
 	Maybe they have a lot in common, a lot more in common than they're
willing to admit. Maybe if they could JUST meet, and get a chance to talk.
.
.maybe David would come to understand her a bit better, and they'd end up
as *friends*, not enemies. . .
	Besides, it would be *so* nice to solve a problem by getting people
together to talk, rather than by kicking the problem's butt!


* * *
 AMY
 	The others want to go to Crown Cafe. I don't particularly feel like going
there today. I've got a lot of work to do.
 	Plus, I don't want to hear half the people in that place talking about
the pornography thing. . .
 	"Oh, come on, Amy," Lita says. "Just come for a couple of minutes. I
promised Mina I'd introduce her to a friend of mine."
 	"You need a break," says Raye. "You can't spend your *entire* life with
your head buried in a book!"
 	"The only time you're not studying nowadays," says Serena, "is when
you're with Adam!"
 	"That's not true," I say. "Adam and I study together, you know."
	The others all sigh.
 	Okay, I admit it. . .I've been even more of a grind than usual these past
few weeks. And my grades show it. . .I don't think there's a test I've
taken I haven't gotten 100% on. That's because studying keeps me from
*thinking.*
 	We approach the cafe, and suddenly, Raye stops. "Whoa!" she says.
 	"What's wrong?" says Serena.
 	"Well, it seems that. . .Mina's got a couple of dates! And the day before
Glen is supposed to arrive, yet. . ."
 	"WHAT!" Serena dashes ahead of the rest of us to get a good look at the
window. I peer around Lita and see what Raye was talking about. Sure
 enough, there's Mina sitting with two guys, laughing and chatting. . .
 	"Guys!" Lita says. "That's Ken's friend David! That's the one I was going
to introduce Mina to!"
 	"David?" says Serena. "The one who's involved in the porn thingy?"
 	"That's him. I'd offered to introduce her to him yesterday afternoon, and
she turned me down flat. . .and then, suddenly, she changed her mind. I
don't know. . .maybe she decided she wanted to join his action committee."
 	"Mina? Into *politics*? Gimme a break!" says Raye. "Knowing her, she
probably thinks the Freedom League is a baseball team."
	"Maybe she's spying on him?" says Serena.
	"*Spying*?" says Raye. "Where the heck did you get *that* one from,Serena?
Honestly, sometimes I think you and Mina are the Airhead Twins. . ."
	"Well, let's hear *you* come up with a theory!" Serena snaps back.
 	Oh, Gods, I think, I *really* don't want to go in there now.  Sitting at
a booth with the king of the porn defense campaign. . .listening to him go
on and on about people who complain about erotic material on the Web site.
. .
 	"I really do have to go now, everyone," I say. "Tell Mina I'll see he  
later."
 	"Amy!" Serena says. "Are you sure?"
 	"Yes, yes, I'm sure. We'll go out some time when I'm not so far behind in
my work. See ya!" And I rush toward home.

 * * *
 MINA
 	Finally, I leave the cafe and head toward home. Artemis pokes his head
up. "So what do you think of David?"
	"Well, he seemed decent enough. Sounds like he's a bad guy who got into a
bad situation. Of course, I won't make up my mind completely about that
until I've met Lori as well."
	"What was that?"
	"Think about this, Artemis. . .what if it turns out that Lori's really an
okay person too, and they have more in common than they want to admit?
Maybe, if they were to get together, and talk. . .they'd call a truce."
 	"Mina. . .are you planning on interfering? That may not be such a good
 idea. . ."
 	"Interfering? Who said anything about that? I just want to stop in at the
campus pub and try to meet this Lori. Then I'll know better what's going
on. . ."
 	"And you'll interfere."
 	"I think they can get along if they just talk, just a little push may be
all they need."
 	"So you're just going to march into this campus pub, all alone. . .a high
school girl who obviously doesn't belong there. . ."
 	Oh, geez, I didn't think of that. Think quick, Mina. . .ah, wait a second!
 We're in Amy's neighborhood. . .
 	"Of course not," I say. "I'm not going to march in there alone! I'm
taking Amy with me!"
* * *
 AMY
 	When is this all going to be over? I think. When can I go somewhere
without hearing about it constantly?
 	At home, I get myself a sandwich and a glass of iced tea and settle down
with my books, where I lose myself until suppertime. My mother remarks that
I seem tense lately.
 	"Relax, honey," she says. "You don't have to hit the books *quite* that
 hard all the time."
 	"I want to. You know I'm never satisfied unless I know I'm doing my best."
 	"There's such a thing as better than your best, you know. Take a couple
of hours off."
 	But I can't. And I go right back to the books after dinner.
 	Then, the knock comes on the door. I open it. . .and there's Mina.
 	"Hi!" she says. "Wanna come somewhere with me for a couple hours?"
 	"Where are we going?"
 	"Oh, you might say it's a snack bar." She looks behind me to my mother.
"Hi, Dr. Anderson!"
 	"Hi, Mina! By all means, Amy. . .go with her."
 	I want to say no. . .but my mother is practically pushing me out the
door. It's almost laughable, really. How many teenagers do you know whose
mothers are trying to get them to stop studying and go out for the evening?
 	"All right," I say. "Just for a little while. . ."
 	"Come on, Amy! Live a little! After all, this is important!"
 	Important? Why does that fill me with a feeling of unease. . .
 	As we walk down the street, she says, "Amy. . .I've got a mission now!"
 	"What are you talking about? What kind of mission?"
 	"I want to bring this pornography thing on campus to an end. . .by having
Lori and David become friends!"
 	Oh, gods. . .she's gone off the deep end. Next, she'll be saying they'd
be a perfect couple.
 	"What gave you an idea like that?"
 	"Well, I just met David, talked a little bit to him, found out where he
was coming from, and now I want to meet Lori as well. I think they just
need to talk.  They know each other, they just need to see the other person
isn't the enemy."
 	Only Mina could think like that. She's either some kind of saint. . .or
 some kind of lunatic.
 	She's leading me into the main part of town, in the vicinity of the
college campus. Now she's turning into the campus grounds itself. . .
 	"Where are we going?"
 	"The campus pub, of course!"
 	Oh, no. The last place in the world I want to go. The place where I
confronted that guy. . .
 	Sailor Mercury returns to the scene of the crime, I think.
 	She leads me through the doors and to one of the tables in the back. "You
stay here, I'll get us drinks. And if you hear someone addressed as *Lori*.
. .keep her in your sights!" She rushes off. I look around me at the crowd.
I think I recognize a couple of them as the people who were yelling at that
writer that night. . .
 	I silently thank the gods for the "glamour" magic that is part of a
Sailor Soldier's transformation -- the magic that convinces anyone looking
at Sailor Mercury that she does *not* look like Amy Anderson. If anyone
were to recognize me. . .
 	Mina rushes back to the table, sodas in hand. "Guess what? At a table
over there. . .right by the jukebox. . .it's her! I heard her talking with
her
 gang as I was getting the sodas. . ."
 	"How do you know it was her? Lori's a fairly common name."
 	"Ah, but how many Loris are talking with their friends about staging a
*last-minute rally*? It's her!"
 	"What are you going to do? Just walk up to her uninvited?"
 	"Just you watch." And she grabs my hand and yanks me out of the seat and
across the room. Sure enough, by the jukebox is a large table filled with
students, almost all of them female, listening with rapt attention to a
redheaded girl in a blue denim dress. And nearby, there's another cluster
of people, who look over at her, frown, whisper to each other, look over at
her again. . .some of David's supporters, I wonder?
  	"We've only got so much time, you know," she's saying. "And none of us
expected that David Chase to make such a dent. . ."
 	"Ah, the hell with him," one of her friends says. "We've got more people
*helping* on our side than he does! Sure, he's got a lot of supporters, but
most of them are all talk and no action."
 	"Still. . .even *talk* does us damage. Because each of his supporters
talks to their friends, and *they* talk to their friends. . ."
 	"Excuse me," Mina says. The heads of everyone at the table turn toward
us, and their eyes narrow, looking at us like we have three heads. . .
 	"Who are you?" says Lori. "You look a little young to be in college."
 	"We're not. Or, should I say, we're not yet. My friend and I are thinking
of coming here. That's why we're visiting."
 	"So what's that got to do with us?" Lori says.
 	"I've heard all about you from the other people in the pub. They told me
about your women's group and what you're doing against pornography, whch I
think is cool! Is there any way we can help you out."
 	Lori looks around at her followers, then back at us. "I usually don't
have outsiders work with this group."
 	"Well, Lori, you were just saying yourself you have a lot to do and only
a little time," says the girl next to her.
 	"Yeah. If the kids really want to help, you can push some of the little
stuff their way, like passing out leaflets," says the woman on her other
side.
 	"Please," Mina says, putting her most innocent look on her face. "I've
always wanted to be involved in something like this. . ."
	Lori heaves a big sigh. "Okay, I'll put you on leaflets. Can you be on
campus Saturday morning?"
 	"Sure!" Mina says. I almost say out loud, "Mina. . .what about Glen?
 Aren't you supposed to be spending Saturday with him?" But I hold my tongue.
 	"Okay! Meet up with us here at 10 a.m. What's your names?"
 	"I'm Mina, she's Amy. Oh, wait a second. . .do you have a phone number I
can reach you at, just in case something comes up?"
 	She scribbles something on a piece of paper. "This is my dorm phone  
number."
 	"Thanks!" She puts it in her purse. "We'll see you!" And she scampers
off. I kind of wave at the group, then follow her.
 	When we get back to the table, she's giggling. "Ha! Success!"
 	"Mina. . .have you forgotten that your boyfriend is coming to Tokyo
 tomorrow? Are you going to drag him out to pass out leaflets?"
 	"Don't worry. . .we won't have to do it! I just wanted to know where Lori
was going to be this weekend. . ."
 	"And what are you going to do now?"
 	"Well. . .I haven't quite figured it out yet. . ."
 	"Mina!" She's out of her mind, I think. Totally nuts. . .
 	"Don't worry," she says. "It'll come together. These things always do."
 	I give a deep sigh. I envy her for being so totally carefree, for living
 life totally for the moment without worries. . .
	I just hope it doesn't catch up with her someday.
	Oh, heck. . .I'm just plain jealous. . .
 * * *
 MINA
 	It's the day after I met both David and Lori. I'm sitting in the airport
 waiting to meet Glen.
 	I couldn't be happier.
 	Of course, I still don't know what I'm going to do with the information
I've gathered so far. Maybe I'll talk about it with Glen later.
 	Nah. I don't want to bother him with that. I'll figure it out myself.
 	I open my purse and take out Lori's number. Hmm, maybe I can just slip it
to David, with a note on it saying, "This is the number of somebody who's
*really interested* in what you're doing and wants to talk to you about
it." But when he calls it and hears her voice, knows it's her, he may just
hang up on her. I could ask him to meet me on campus the same time I'm
supposed to meet up with Lori. . .but I don't want either of them to know
I'm working for the other as well.
 	Hmm. . .maybe borrow Raye's cell phone, take it to Crown, meet up with
David, call Lori while I'm at the table. . .then make like I have to leave
the table for a moment, hand the phone to him and say "Talk to my friend
for a minute, will you?"
 	And then, I hear the dear, British-accented baritone voice say, "Mina,
darling!"  He's here! I jump up and go barelling towards him like a freight
train. Suddenly, his arms are all around me, and his lips are on mine, and
I feel like I'm standing on a cloud. I tangle my fingers in his hair and
pull his head closer. He always smells so fresh and clean, like the air
after a rainstorm. . .
 	When we break apart at last, he says, "God, you make that bloody plane
ride worthwhile." We both laugh.
 	"I'm so glad to see you, honey!" I say, grabbing his hand and pulling him
toward customs. "I've literally been counting the days. . ."
 	"Oh, so have I. I had a dreadful week. . .one exam after another, and it
 seemed that every night I came home to a dreadfully dull dinner party. . ."
 	I know what he meant by that. I went to a Christmas party at his manor
and met his family's "friends." It was like spending time with a bunch of
wax statues -- they were all stiff and dull.
 	He goes through customs and gets his bags, and we go out to where a limo
is waiting for him. When we're settled in the back seat, we start kissing
and giggling. Gods, I think I'd like to just tumble him onto his back and.
. .
 	The driver says, loudly, "Pardon me, sir. . .where would you like to go?"
 	"Sorry about that. The Imperial Hotel, please."
 	We go right back to kissing as the car pulls away. Sure, we talk every
night online, and every couple of weeks on the phone. . .but there is
 *nothing* like actually having him here, live, in person and in my arms. .
 .
 	When we ease apart, I lean my head on his chest and his arms come around
me. "This is going to sound corny," he says, "but. . .it's like I onlycome
*alive* when we're together. When we're not. . .I feel like my life's on
permanent hold."
 	I reach up and stroke his hair. "I don't think it's corny," I say. "I
feel the same way." And I mean it.
 	"Do you know the worst thing about being a Far-Seer? All those times I've
Seen you. . . .as if you were right in front of me. . .and I couldn't touch
you." He runs his fingers along my arm. "It's sometimes hard now to believe
that you're real."
 	I envy him his psychic gift. Because he can See me, all right. . .but I
can't see him. Some people would probably be creeped out by the idea that
their long-distance loved one could look in on them at any time and see
what they were doing. . .I love it. It makes me feel close to him. 	
	"Oh, I'm real, all right. One hundred percent!"
 	We arrive at his hotel. He gives a questioning look at the shopping bag
in my hand as we head inside.
 	"You'll find out later," I say. I have such a wonderful evening planned
for us. . .it's gonna knock his socks off!
 	Things are so wonderful right now, I think. And if my plans for David and
Lori work out. . .they'll be absolutely perfect. . .
 	I help him get unpacked and settled in. The hotel suites he gets are
always almost as big as my entire house, I swear! And that's a very good
thing when it comes to my plan. . .it's much easier to set up if I can send
him into another room for awhile. . .
 	Finally, we both sit cuddled up on the couch in his front room. "Tired?"
I say.
 	"No. . .more hungry than anything else, actually. Feel like going to that
place we went to last time?"
 	"Stellaluna?" I look down at what I'm wearing. "I'm not exactly dressed
for that place. . ."
 	"Neither am I. . .but who cares? We're there to *eat*, not see and be
seen, right?"
	I give him a kiss. "Right! This is *food*, not a fashion parade! I like
how you think!"
 	"Believe me, sometimes I wonder how I came out this way, growing up in
the middle of the biggest bunch of snobs in the world." He gets up. "And
now, my dear, I'm going to freshen up and we'll go. . .and over dinner, you
can tell me something about this 'project' you seemed so enthusiastic about
when you talked to me on the phone the other day."

 * * *
 AMY

 	Adam invited me to his apartment for dinner and "studying" tonight.
 Usually, when we do that we get very little actual studying done. And for
 once, I don't mind.
 	But tonight, as he's cooking, I'm actually studying. Have to get a jump
on next week's history exam, I tell myself, it looks like it's going to be
a tough one. . .
 	He pokes his head out of the kitchen. "It's getting awfully quiet out  
there!"
 	"Oh, I'm just working. I have a lot to do tonight."
 	"Hon. . .it's *Friday night.* You're allowed to loosen up and have fun,
 you know!"
 	"I know. . .I just want to get this out of the way first."
 	He goes back into the kitchen, and I bury myself in the textbook again.
Images of last night in the pub rise into my head. . .
 	So that was the famous Lori, the anti-porn crusader, the sworn enemy of
the guy Mina was talking to at Crown Cafe. Both of them defending their
sides with near-religious fervor, both of them willing to do almost
anything to get their message across. . .
 	Both of them monsters that I created?
 	I quickly flip the page and try to immerse myself in cold, hard facts
 again. But that nagging guilt won't go away. . .it's a constant
irritation, like having a piece of clothing constantly rubbing against an
open sore.
 	He comes out into the living room. "Okay, Girl Genius. Dinner's almost
 ready. I think you'll like this. It's a tempura. . .I think I used every
kind of vegetable they had in the supermarket."
 	"Sounds delicious," I say, trying to muster enthusiasm. Maybe I'll feel
better if I try to lose myself in food and romance, if I try to pretend
that none of this has happened, is happening. . .
 	But during dinner, he does almost all of the talking. His having to train
a new library assistant who's totally clueless. . .an experiment in
 chemistry class in which the students actually tried to make synthetic
 whiskey ("they finally declared it a failure. . .and then went out and got
 bombed on the real stuff"). . .how two of his on-campus friends were
trying to persuade him to take a radio class next semester and join the
campus station's on-air staff. . .
 	And then, abruptly. . . "Okay, honey. . .what's wrong?"
 	"Nothing."
 	"I know you far too well by now, Girl Genius. All through dinner, you
didn't say one word about Mina doing something silly, or Serena and Raye
having an argument, or anything else about your friends. And I *know* they
don't go this long without doing anything interesting."
 	"Well, I. . .have a lot on my mind right now. School."
 	"Is it *just* school?"
 	He looks at me with those soft eyes. . .those eyes so full of love and
 trust. . .and I know I can't lie to him.
 	"No."
 	He takes my hand, leads me away from the table. "We'll have our dessert
and coffee later. Right now, I think we need to talk."
 * * *
 MINA

 	". . .and that's it. I have Lori's phone number, and no idea what to do
 with it. But I feel like I *have* to do something. Maybe if he met her. .
.got to know her. . .he'd drop his obsession and realize they were meant to
be *friends*, not *enemies*."
 	He sits quietly for a moment, as if deep in thought. . .
 	 "He's obsessed with Lori. . .or he's obsessed with what Lori stands for?"
 	"What do you mean?"
 	"Well, she's someone with an opposite viewpoint from his. . .who also has
considerable charisma. From the way you describe her followers, they seem
really gung-ho, ready to follow her to the ends of the earth. Maybe he's
obsessed with Lori because he's trying to figure out her secret, figure out
what her magic is. . .and then claim some of that magic for himself."
 	"And that's why he talks about her all the time?"
 	"He's probably trying to figure out what makes her tick. Haven't you ever
felt like that about someone. . .trying to wonder what makes them so damn
perfect, wondered about it to the point where it drove you nuts?"
 	Oh, yes. . .I remember when Alex and Michelle first appeared. . .we all
 obsessed over them like that, trying to figure out where they were coming
from, whether they were on our side or not. . .
 	"Yes. I have."
 	"So have I. So has just about everyone. I think it's normal in this case,
Mina. I don't think he's a creep."
 	I give a small smile. "You sound as if you've met him. I must have
 described him well."
	"Besides, is he the *only* person obsessed? You seem to have given this a
*lot* of thought, Mina."
	Obsessed? Who, me? I'm not obsessed! I'm just. . .doing my part to help
these two, that's all!
	"Well, this is a very big deal around here! *Everybody* talks about it,
all the time! It's a pain in the butt to everyone. . .especially David and
Lori. I just want to help put an end to it, that's all. . .and maybe have
something good come out of it."
 	He gives me a hug. "You always see the bright side to everything, don't
you? No wonder I fell in love with you."
	"Besides. . .*you* seemed to get interested in this whole thing pretty
quickly!" He seems to go deep into thought again for a moment. . .and then
says, "Mina. . .I've Seen him. I'm sure the person was him, the way you
described him. And Lori as well."
 	"Huh?"
 	"I kept seeing these two people over and over. . .first him, then her.
They were total strangers to me, I kept wondering why I was seeing them. .
.but now that you tell me about David and Lori. . .well, these people seem
to match your description of them."
	I blink rapidly, feel my heart speeding up. . .
 	"And I usually don't see two people like that. . .first one, then the
other, right after each other. . .unless they're linked in some way. . .by
fate, or destiny. Like a year or so ago I kept having flashes like that of
my gym teacher and one of the female students. . .and a few months
afterward, they ran away together."
	"What are you saying?"
	"I'm not *saying* anything in particular."
	"But. . .the teacher and student running away together. . .you saw them,
and they fell in love. . ."
	  "Now, I'm not *necessarily* saying that that's why I saw David and Lori.
They could be linked simply because they're both involved in this
controversy. . ."
 	"But. . .it could mean. . ."
 	"It *could* mean that they're destined to be in love, yes. *Could.* But
that's just one possibility. I've had false alarms, too, you know. I once
had repeated visions of my mother and one of our oldest family friends, and
thought that meant I was about to get a stepfather. Turns out their shared
destiny was to be in a limo together when it was broadsided by a truck.
They both escaped with minor injuries, thank God. . .but if the truck had
been going just a bit faster, they may have been killed."
 	A false alarm, okay, maybe. . .but. . .
	I roll the idea around in my mind. It makes sense. . .yes, it makes
 sense. . .how many couples have I heard of who spent the whole early part
 of their relationship fighting, and then figured out that they were really
 in love? Didn't Serena tell me that when she and Darien first met, they
 fought viciously?
 	This is making me more determined that ever to bring them together! They
could be destined to be. . .a great epic love! And hey, I'm the priestess
 of the goddess of love, right? Isn't one of my duties to bring people together?
	"It's not up to us to try to bend the forces of fate and divine will to
our wishes. We just go with the flow, so to speak, and make the most of
whatever happens to us."
	Now he's going into "priest mode." He was one of the court priests to the
Royal Family of Venus in the Silver Millennium, and part of him has never
forgotten it. Fortunately, I never forgot how to deal with him when he gets
like that.
 	"But Glen. . .what if it *isn't* a false alarm? I could be responsible
for bringing together a loving couple!"
 	"Careful. I said it *may* be one of the possibilities. You don't want to
interfere with destiny. Destiny's a tricky thing. . .you mess with one
little bit of it, you could screw up the person's entire future. What if
you push David and Lori together, and they're actually meant to be with
someone else? You'll have robbed them of their happiness instead of making
them happy!"
  	"But you said yourself. . .you normally don't see those type of things
 unless there's a reason. . .and the last couple you saw ended up together.
 . ."
 	He shakes his head. "This is too close to call, Mina. It could be fated
 love. . .or a temporary thing. . .or a false alarm. And it could even be
that they're reincarnated enemies. If you push them too hard, it could
bring back conflicts they had in the past that make this look like a
playground skirmish. You may think this situation is out-of-control now. .
.but it's nothing compared to what would happen if you pushed them too far,
made them too angry. . .it could go all the way to violence, Mina. You
can't be too
careful."
 	Careful? I think. Isn't love about risk? There may be repercussions if
this wasn't meant to happen, yes. . .but what if they *are* meant to be
together, and they never got a chance to be? Isn't happiness worth the
risk?


* * *
 AMY

 	Adam and I are sitting on the couch. He has one arm around me, the other
hand is grasping my hand. He's trying to make me feel warm and secure. .
.and I guess it's succeeding.
 	"Now, honey," he says, "you know you can tell me anything, no matter
 what's on your mind. Remember, we went through that thing with those
stories on that Web site together. . ."
 	"I remember."
 	"That's what's wrong, isn't it? Did somebody post some more of those  
things?"
 	I woudn't know if they had. I'd avoided the site like the plague ever
 since. "I don't think so."
 	"Did people at school read it? Are they saying nasty things about Sailor
Mercury around you?"
 	"No. And if they did, it wouldn't bother me."
 	"Well, if you'd listen to that Lori, you'd think the entire world had
read them and. . ." He must have felt my body stiffen, saw me pull away
slightly at the mention of Lori's name. "Oh, gods. . .that's it, isn't it?
You met that Lori and now you feel responsible for her rampage."
 	I want to deny it. . .but I just can't. "Not just Lori. David. . .and the
whole school. . ."
 	He pulls me into his arms, and I feel the tears start to leak out of my
eyes, no matter how hard I try to fight them back. "Oh, honey," he says,
 stroking my hair. "You've been carrying around guilt ever since this whole
 mess started, haven't you?"
 	"I let my emotions get the best of me. . .I just had to get revenge
instead of just letting it drop. . .and as a result. . .your whole college
is in an uproar. Adam, I didn't mean for this to happen. . ."
 	"I know, sweetheart, I know." He kisses me. "I've been wrestling with it,
too. Remember, it was originally my idea that you go stalking into that pub
in full Sailor Soldier regalia and nail that guy's butt to the wall. I
wan't exactly thinking straight, either."
 	"And it *had* to be when that David and that Lori were both in the pub. . 
."
 	"Lori would have eventually started kicking up a fuss whether you made a
scene or not. Believe me, I've heard stories about her. She's a loose
 cannon, Amy. The kind of person who's never happy unless she's angry over
 something. . .and has a lot of other people be angry along with her."
 	"But that would have been just *Lori* and her little group. That wouldn't
be the *entire school.* I hate the thought that what I did has put a whole
campus at odds with each other."
 	"It's not what *you* did. You don't realize what powerful organizers and
motivators both David and Lori are."
 	I let out a sigh. "That still doesn't change the fact that it's a mess,
and a mess I helped create."
 	"And a mess that will be over in a couple of weeks. They'll have the
election, they'll either slap an official ban on public porn. . .which
won't stop people from accessing whatever sites they want from their dorm
rooms. . .or everything will keep going like it is now. There might be a
few arguments breaking out here and there . . .but for the most part, the
whole thing will be forgotten and people will move on to something else."
 	"That quickly? I don't think so."
 	"Well, it won't be forgotten all at once. But the controversy *won't* be
on campus forever. Hey, I'm a student there, I know how that place
operates. Usually, the student body has the collective attention span of a
horsefly. I'm surprised this mess has lasted as long as it has."
 	I reach up and stroke his dear, dear face. Is he telling the truth, or is
 he just trying to make me feel better? Somehow, right now, it doesn't
 matter. Because the very fact that I can open up to him like this, that we
 have this level of intimacy, is making me feel better.
 	It's strange to have so much power as a Sailor Soldier. . .and to feel so
powerless in the face of something like this. There are some things you
just have no control over, no matter what your talents and abilities are.
You just have to cope with whatever comes.
	I played my part, David and Lori played theirs.  I can only let it work
out or I'd make it even worse.
	Besides, from what Adam was saying, it sounds like they were both loose
cannons to begin with. . .
 	"What would I do without you?" I say.
 	"I don't know. . .but I know that without you, I'd be nothing. Nothing at
 all." He leans over and kisses my lips, lightly. . .I kiss back, with more
passion, pulling him close, letting my fingers trail through his hair. Oh,
gods, I think I'm starting to feel warm, warm all over. . .
 	We break apart, and I start to kiss his neck. "I love you," I whisper.
 	"I love you, too. . .and I have a feeling you're about to show me *just*
 how much you love me."
 	"Do you mind?"
 	"Not at all."
 	He picks me up in his arms and starts to carry me toward the bedroom. . .
suddenly, it's like a nine hundred ton weight has been removed from my
shoulders. For the first time in weeks. . .months, it feels like. . .I'm
truly relaxed enough to be into the idea of making love. . .

 * * *
 MINA

 	I can hear Glen on the phone with somebody back home in the front room as
I bustle around the bedroom, getting the place ready, making sure it's just
right. . .
 	We'd dropped the conversation about David and Lori and destiny at the
restaurant, but I'd kept thinking about it. Interfering with destiny or no.
. .I still think it's a chance worth taking.
 	But that's somethng to think about later. Right now, everything's almost
ready. Now I just have to make sure *I* look fabulous!
 	I hear him call out, "Honey. . .can I come in?"
 	"Not yet. I'll let you know."
 	I hear his footsteps coming toward the door, which is open a crack. I
quickly move to shut it all the way. "No peeking!" I say.
 	"None at all? What are you preparing in there?"
 	"Oh, you'll see." I touch up my makeup, making sure I look
magazine-layout gorgeous. . .a little more eyeliner here, a little more
blush there. . .I pull the ribbon out of my hair and brush it out so it
flows straight down my back. I take one final look in the mirror, adjusting
the sheer black lace nightgown so *just enough* cleavage shows over the
top. . .
 	Ah, yes, perfect. And now, it's showtime.
 	I sit on the edge of the bed, legs crossed. "You can come in now," I say.
 	He opens the door, and I see his eyes widen in the candlelight. He takes
in the see-through nightie, inhales the scent of the simmering potpourri. .
."Breathtaking," he sighs.
 	"Do you like?" I say.
 	"Oh, I like, I like!" He sits next to me, and I put my arms around him,
 pulling his head toward mine. I let my lips caress his, my tongue starting
 to flicker in and out of his mouth. My hands come up and tangle in his
hair, pulling him closer and closer. . .
 	We break apart, and he starts to kiss up and down my neck. "Oh, my love,"
he sighs. "I don't know how I survive when I'm separated from you. . ."
 	"Hush," I say. "We're together now, and that's what matters."
 	I bring my lips back to his, kissing him as deeply as I can. . .I take
his bottom lip in both of mine, slowly caressing it as my fingers reach
down and start to unbutton his shirt. I push it aside, letting my hands run
up and down his chest, feeling him stir in response.
 	"You're so, so gorgeous," I sigh, just before I start to kiss downward. . 
.
 	"Ah. . .you *are* the goddess of love. . ."
 	"Let me show you how much of a goddess I am." I come to one of his
nipples and start to lick it, slowly. He groans. . .and oh, man, is it a
beautiful sound!
 	I move my head over to the other side of his chest, and lick the other
nipple. Hmm, I can see why he likes doing this to me. I like the taste, the
texture. . .When I start to suck, he lets out a loud moan, and when I reach
down and start rubbing his manhood through his pants, he arches his whole
 body toward me. . .
 	"Oh, honey. . .that's so good. . .more. . ."
 	I undo his belt, his snap. . .slowly, I inch the zipper down.. . I let my
fingers brush his erection through his underwear. . .
 	"Please, Mina. . .I need it. . ."
 	I yank the pants down and off, along with his socks. I get ready to pull
off his underwear. . .
 	And then, I have an idea. I sit astride him, with him still wearing his
 underwear. . .I position myself so his manhood is pressing against my most
sensitive spot. I start to rub against him, feeling the fabric over his
 erection against me. . .mmm, it feels good. . .the friction. . .
 	"Ohhh," I find myself moaning, as I start to move faster. It was all
about his pleasure at first. . .but now it's about mine as well. . .
 	Then, I feel his hands on the bottom of my nightgown, and he's lifting it
up and over my head. I gladly let him. His hands move down my shoulders,
and then onto my breasts. . .I gasp as I feel him start to brush his
fingers on my nipples, little feathery tingles of pleasure running all over
my body.
 	I pick up the pace, and he rubs the palms of his hands on my breasts.
 "Baby, baby, baby," I moan, the pleasure getting hotter, stronger. . .my
head is spinning, and I'm starting to pant. . .
 	Before I know it, he's flipping me onto my back, and he's kissing my
lips, hard. . .I feel his teeth softly nibbling along my jawline, and I
whisper his name, over and over. . .he nibbles his way down my neck, his
tongue coming out and swirling on my skin. . .on my neck, over the curve of
my breast. . .
 	At the touch of his mouth on my nipple, my hips jerk toward him and I let
out a cry of pleasure. He kisses all around it, swirls his tongue on it. .
 .takes it in his lips and sucks. . .at the same time, his hand is moving
down, down. . .I feel his palm cupping my womanood, gently squeezing it. .
.
 	"Ohh, please!" I cry.
 	He raises his head. "Please what?"
 	"Touch me. . .put your fingers there. . ."
 	His head moves to my other breast, and I feel him licking at the nipple.
. .as his fingers gently slide inside me. I let out a loud cry, my hips
 moving up and down, encouraing him to thrust. . .he pushes them deep, deep
inside, then pulls them out, sliding them over my jewel, gently caressing
it. . .then inside again. . .and then pumping them rapidly. . .and
 meanwhile, he's sucking on my nipple, pausing to lick, then sucking again,
 and I feel like the top of my head is going to come off. "Don't stop!
Please don't stop. . ."
 	And then, his fingers move up to my jewel. . .and his mouth sucks at my
breast relentlessly. . .and his other hand is on my other breast, gently
 squeezing my nipple between his thumb and forefinger. . .oh, gods, it's all
 too much, oh gods. . .The heat is growing and growing and suddenly it
 explodes, heat flooding every inch of me,  my heart pounding, wave after
 wave of pleasure pulsing through my body. . .
 	Softly, his lips kiss mine. "So beautiful," he whispers. "You're so
 beautiful in passion. . ."
 	"I love you," I say.
 	"I love you, too."
 	He leans over to kiss me, and I roll him over on his back, reaching down
to grab his underwear and yank it off. My fingers slide up and down his
manhood, and he moans softly in response. I love hearing the different
noises when I do different things. . .the gentle sighs as I stroke the
shaft, the low groans as I flutter my fingers over the head, the growls as
I cup and caress the sac beneath. . .
 	I'd put the condoms right on the nighttable, and I reach for one, opening
it, rolling it onto him. "Mina, darling," he moans in anticipation.
 	I stradde his hips, positioning him right at my entrance, rubbing back
and forth so the head caresses my pearl. . .oh, the heat is rising in me
again already, I know it's going to be easy for me to come again. . .
  	I push downward, and we are one. I start to thrust, hard, feeling like I
want to take him into me completely. . .I grab his hands and put them on my
breasts, and he rubs my nipples. . .then squeezes. . .then brushes his
thumbs against them. . .I move faster and faster, the pleasure driving me
almost mad, flinging my head back and letting out one long, low moan after
another. . .I can feel him rising up to meet me, again and again and
again, hear him moaning my name. . .and with every thrust, every stroke, I
feel hotter and hotter and. . .and then it's happening again, it's all
exploding, and I'm shuddering over and over. . I fall forward, then fling
my head back as I cry out. . .
	Slowly, slowly reality comes back into focus, and I can feel him still
hard within me. I start to pump my hips again, faster than before, leaning
over so I can kiss him, and let my hands gently stroke down his chest, play
with his nipples. . .he is moaning faster, I can tell by the look on his
face he's almost there, almost there. . .and then I hear him cry out, and I
hold him as he trembles with his own climax.
  	I roll off him so we're lying side by side, holding each other and
softly kissing. "You're wonderful," he says.
 	"You're pretty wonderful yourself. I can't imagine anything better than
making love to you."
 	"Ah, Mina. . .what did I ever do to deserve you?"
 	"You're you. That's enough."
 	He gets rid of the rubber, then we snuggle into each other's arms, my
head on his chest.
 	The last thing I can think of before I fall asleep is I hope David and
 Lori know how wonderful a moment like this is. . .and soon.

 * * *

 AMY
 	I'm lying in the middle of his bed. He had put me down, kissing me,
 stroking my hair, caressing my breasts through my top. . .
 	"I'll be back in a moment, love," he said, and headed for the bathroom.
 	My heart is pounding, and I feel like my whole body's on fire. I want him
to come back, now. . .I want to feel his skin against mine, his heart
pounding against mine. . .I'm almost laughing, I feel so happy right now,
so carefree. . .this must be what it feels like to be Mina!
 	I roll off the bed and undress. . .completely. When I'm naked, I slide
under the covers. The sheets rub against my hard nipples, the sensitive
skin between my thighs, and it only heightens my anticipation. . .
 	Finally, he comes back to the bedroom, wearing nothing but his robe. He
looks very pleased to see I'm wearing even less.
 	"What are you doing, Girl Genius?" he says.
 	I feel like a flirt, a tease. . ."I'm waiting for you."
  	"Well, it would be rude for me to keep you waiting, wouldn't it?"
 	He drops his robe and slides into the bed beside me. He brings his mouth
to mine as his hand reaches down to my breast, his fingers stroking the
nipple. I moan, and moan louder as he squeezes.
 	"You are so, so sexy," he sighs between kisses. . .his hand leaves my
 breast and travels down my body, over my side, my hip. . .sliding around to
 my bottom. . .mmm, he's caressing it, stroking it, squeezing it.  . .and it
 feels good. . .
 	"Ohh, yes," I say, and I kiss him harder, rolling over so I'm on top of
 him. Now both his hands are on my bottom, and he squeezes it, gently yet
 firmly, kneading it, caressing it. . .I rub against him so my nipples are
 brushing against his chest, my womanhood is rubbing against his manhood. .
.ohh, that and the pleasure from my bottom. . .it's so good. . .
 	"Hmm," he says. "You like this, don't you?" He squeezes a bit harder to
indicate he meant my rear.
 	"Yes," I say. "Mmmm. . .that's good."
 	He kisses me, hard, and I feel his tongue in my mouth. . .I let my tongue
stroke his, and I feel his hands moving up and down on my buttocks. . .oh,
I never realized before how pleausrable having that part of my body played
with could be. . .
I feel him roll me on my side. . .then move away from me and roll me on my
stomach again. . .
 	"Adam?"
 	"Sshh, honey, just like still for a moment. . ." And then, I feel his lips
 on my neck. . .kissing slowly down my back. . .his teeth nibbling here,
his tongue flicking there. . .I begin wondering what the heck he's doing. .
.
 	Then, I feel his teeth on my left buttock. Oh, Gods. . .he's nibbling me
there! I feel a hot flush spread all over me as my heart starts to pound. .
.it feels good! He nibbles a bit more. . .then starts to kiss, hard, moving
his lips from the left side of my bottom to the right and back again. . .
 	"Good. . .so good," I moan, feeling flooded with pleasure as he nibbles
some on the right cheek, then grabs them both in his hands and starts
caressing again. . .I find myself getting up on my knees, giving him
greater access to my bottom, wanting more kisses, caresses, bites, licks. .
.
 	He starts to move lower and lower. . .his kissing becomes slower, more
deliberate. . .
 	And suddenly, his tongue enters my womanhood from behind. I let out a
loud gasp. He's made love to me with his mouth before. . .but not like
this! I arch back against him, and he begins to lick, moving his tongue all
around my entrance, caressing the folds, seeking the most sensitive spots.
. .When he finds one, I let out a cry. . .and he starts working on that
spot, caressing it firmly, nipping at it. . .My whole body is moving, I can
barely contain the pleasure. . .I'm chanting his name like a mantra. . .I
want release, but at the same time, I just want it to go on and on forever.
. .His tongue seems to be everywhere at once, relentless, teasing, flicking
from spot to spot, driving me madder and madder.  .why didn't we do
thisbefore? Could it be that my wild, free mood has spread to him as well?
	I'm whispering over and over, "So good. . .soooo good. . ."
 	"Just you wait, love. The best is still to come. . ."
 	I hear him open the nighttable drawer, hear the tearing of a foil packet
. . . I turn around and watch him start to put the condom on.
 	I know just how I want to do this.
 	I draw myself up to my knees and crawl over to him, throwing my arms
around him, drawing his mouth to mine. And I push backwards, gently, so he
tumbles onto the bed and I'm on top. I kiss him deeply, thrusting my tongue
in and out of his mouth, letting my fingers tangle in his hair. . .I
position my hips so he's just at the entrance, not quite in yet. . .
 	I draw myself up so I'm sitting astride him, say "I love you". . .and
 thurst downward. Ahh, I can feel him filling me completely, feel like
we're joined in body, mind and soul. I start to move, up and down, pumping
my hips, feeling like I will never get enough, never get enough. . . His
hands
 reach up, finding my breasts, gently caressing the nipples as he starts to
rise to meet each of my thrusts. I gasp, moving faster and faster. . .ohh,
there's a sweet sensation building and building down there, it's like a
flood building up behind a dam, barely being contained. . .it's not going
to be much longer, just a little bit more. . .more. . .
 	And then, it happens. . .a sharp blast of pleasure that shakes every bit
of me, waves of intense sensation crashing through my body, and I shriek,
my hands squeezing the bedsheets, my hips jerking against him. . . I sag
atop him, completely drained. . .I wish we could stay joined like
 that forever. . .
	Then, I realize that he hasn't had his release yet. My darling. . .he was
so focused on making me feel good that he delayed his own climax. . .
	I'll reward him for that.
	I kiss his lips, feeling his tongue almost instantly slip into my mouth,
seeking out mine. . .I let my tongue tease him, flicker back and forth
against his just a bit, then kiss my way down his chin. . .I run my tongue
slowly down his neck, and feel him shudder.
	Now, down further, further. . .I kiss along his chest, licking and sucking
a nipple when I come to it, savoring how he feels, his luscious taste. . .I
continue to lick my way down his stomach, feeling him arch his belly in
anticipation, as if he's mutely begging me to get down there faster.
	When I reach his erection, I gently slide off the rubber. . .and make a
quick run to the bathroom for a warm, wet rag. Gently, I sponge him off. .
.then lean over and take him in my mouth. I draw him in as far as I can
take it, almost to the point of choking. . .I hear him give a cry, feel him
reach down to tangle his fingers in my hair. I start to suck, moving him in
and out slowly. . .I let my hands stroke and caress his inner thighs, where
I know he's sensitive, and am rewarded with an "ohhh!" and a sudden jerk of
his hips, almost forcing him in too deep. . .I pull back just in time.
	I slide him out of my mouth, and start to lick around the head, letting my
fingers play along the rest of his length. I hear him moan, over and over,
then sigh deeply as I lay kisses all over it. I take him back in again,
starting to suck harder, move my head back and forth faster. . .My fingers
stroke his thighs again, then the sac beneath his manhood. . .I can feel
his body tense, he's ready, any second. . .I quickly pull my head away and
grasp him in my hand, pumping fast, and he lets out a yell, his hips
jerking as he releases his seed.
	He collapses back to the bed, panting. I reach for a tissue and quickly
clean myself and him up, then lie next to him.He draws me into his arms.
"Feel better, Girl Genius?"
 	"Feel tons better. I love you so much. . ."
 	"I love you, too."
 	I snuggle closer, thinking that whatever it was that was bothering me. .
.I'd worry about it tomorrow. If, indeed, it was worth worrying about at
all.


* * *
 MINA

 	I wake up and see bright sunlight peeking in from the small crack in the
drapes. I roll over and softly kiss Glen, who's still sound asleep. Gods,
 but he's gorgeous when he's asleep! Heck, he's gorgeous all the time!
 	I knew he was *the one* the day I met him, my first day going to school
in England. Love at first sight? You'd better believe it! After all, we had
been together in the Silver Millennium. . .we were destined to find
 each other again.
 	I start wondering how many other people in my life now were people I knew
in the Silver Millennium. And was it possible. . .that David and Lori were
there as well? And if so. . .what was their relationship? Lovers? Friends?
Enemies?
	Sometimes I wish I were psychic, like Glen is. . .like Raye and Serena and
Darien are. Then I'd *know* things like that. . .
 	Glen opens his eyes, turns over toward me. "Good morning, love. How are
you doing?"
 	"I'm doing great." I kiss him. "I was just thinking. . .about Lori and
David. . ."
 	He sighs. "Mina. . .you know what I said about interfering with destiny. .  
."
 	"Glen. . .I'm not *interfering*. I'm just. . .helping, that's all!"
 	"If you get in the way of their true fate. . ."
 	"Who said all love *had* to be destiny, anyway? Hey, in the long run,
 don't people *choose* to fall in love?"
 	"On the contrary. Love usually chooses them."
 	I get out of bed, pull on a bathrobe. I walk over to my purse, take
Lori's number out. . .
 	"Glen. . .haven't you ever tried matchmaking someone?"
 	He pauses a bit, then says, "Well. . .at my old boarding school, the one
I went to before I met you. . .there was this gorgeous girl who a friend of
mine liked. . .he talked constantly about what it would be like to be her
man, and how much he was dying to meet her, but didn't know how."
 	"So. . .what did you do?"
 	"Well, I had her in a couple of my classes. I knew she was running for
May Day Queen. So, I went up to her one day and volunteered my friend's
 services as her campaign manager. Of course, he'd never done anything like
that before. . .but he was willing to learn fast for a date with her!"
 	"What happened?"
 	"She lost the election and they're still going out."
 	"There, see? You helped bring them together. . .and there was no big
 catastrophe. You didn't play around with destiny."
 	"I didn't *matchmake* them, per se. I just created a situation where they
could get to know each other."
 	"And how is this thing with David and Lori any different from that?
That's all I want to do. . .let them get to know each other. Then, if
there's
 destiny involved, okay. . .destiny will do its stuff at that point. And if
not. . .hey, they'll just go they separate ways."
 	He's quiet for a moment. Then, he gets out of the bed, walks over to me.
. .and takes Lori's number. He stares at it for a moment. . .
 	"Okay. . .I'll help. What the heck. . .it might be fun."
 	"Oh, honey!" I give him a HUGE hug.
 	He sighs. "I just hope I won't regret it."
 	"You won't. I promise, you won't!"
 * * *
 AMY
 	I woke up before he did. I decide not to disturb him.
 	I gather up my clothes and head for the shower. The warm water feels so
good, like it's washing away the last of the bad feelings. . .
 	Last night was so special. I don't think it's *ever* been as good as it
 was then. I never even dared to dream doing some of those things. Who am I
fooling. . .I barely dared to dream doing *anything.*
 	Have I been *too* closed-minded? Look at what's been happening with my
friends. . .Raye and Lita both seem to be happier than they ever have been
before. Maybe they've been learning something from all this, becoming more
experimental, more willing to try new and unusual things? Raye reads that
explicit yaoi manga now, something she would have never dreamed of doing
before. . .
	What do they know that I don't? (I don't like having people know something
that I don't!) I've got to talk to them, find out their secrets. . .and
maybe there's other ways I can learn. Maybe through books, or what's out
there on the Internet. . .
 	I realize that I've been spending these last few moments thinking about
our *sex life,* not about the controversy and my part in starting it. Oh,
it feels good to have that load off my shoulders. . .
 	Adam was right, I think as I get out of the tub and start to dry off.
This was destined to happen. . .whether I was involved in it or not. In a
way, it was being in the wrong place at the wrong time. David and Lori just
found me a convenient catalyst. . .
 	I look around for my underpants. I forgot to bring them into the
bathroom! I head back into the bedroom. . .
 	As I bend over to pick them up, I feel a hand caressing my bottom. .
 .slowly and sensually. . .
 	"Look at this," he says teasingly. "The Girl Genius will be sitting in
class. . .studying hard like a good girl. . .sitting on a bottom with teeth
marks on it!"
 	I can feel myself blushing. I want to come back with a witty and sexy
retort. . .but the words are failing me. . .So I just stand up, turn
around, and kiss him.
 	"Good morning, gorgeous," he says when we break apart.
 	"Good morning. I'm feeling so much better!"
 	"How much better?"
 	"So much that I want to go out for breakfast!"
 	"Oh, honey. . .we can't. I have to pull a shift in the library in an
hour. Tell you what. . .we'll go out for lunch tomorrow, okay?"
 	"Okay," I say, giving him a kiss. I'm a bit disappointed, to be sure. .
.but at least I have tomorrow to look forward to.
 	And meanwhile, I can start my research project. . .
 * * *
 MINA
 	Glen had made a promise to his mother, a promise he has to carry out  
today.
 	"I have to pay a visit to the British Ambassador to Japan. You don't have
to come if you don't want to. . .you'll be bored out of your mind."
 	I'd rather not. The only thing I *don't* like about being with Glen is
 having to deal with ambassadors and lords and ladies and the like. They're
 all stuck-up, stuffy people who tend to look down their noses at me.
	Glen says he especially hates having to act proper around them, and treat
them with dignified respect, when he has Seen what some of them do
after-hours. He said that some of them have private lives that would make a
porn queen blush.
	"It's very hard calling someone 'your grace,' he's said, "when the night
before you Saw him in drag being spanked by a pair of hookers in Nazi
uniforms!"
 	So while he goes to the Embassy, I head for the arcade. Maybe the other
girls will be there. . .
 	But when I get there, none of them are. Oh, well, maybe if I hang out a
bit, someone will show up. I shove a thousand-yen note into the change
machine and then head for the driving game.
 	I'm on my second game when Amy walks in. Which is a bit unusual. She
usually doesn't come into the arcade without the rest of us.
 	"Hi, Mina," she says. "Where's Glen?"
 	"With a bunch of boring people. He had to go to the British Embassy."
  	"So. . .he's not going to be around for awhile?"
 	"Not for a couple of hours." There's a strange tone to her voice. . .she
 doesn't sound *upset*, but she definitely sounds like she's eager to talk
 to me.
 	"Do you want to take a walk after you're done here?"
 	My game is over. I hop out of the simulator. "Amy. . .what's up? Is there
something wrong?"
 	"Oh, not really. But I do want to talk."
 	We leave the arcade and head for the park. "So. . .how are things with
Glen?"
 	"Things are terrific. I am *so* happy when I'm with him. When we're
 together. . .it makes up for all the time we have to spend apart."
 	"What. . .do the two of you do when you're together?"
 	"Well. . .same things everyone does, I guess. We go out, we see movies,
we hang out at the amusement park or the arcade. . ." I give a big smile.
"But this time, we're doing something special!"
 	She seems interested. "Oh?"
 	"Yep! We've decided we're going to try to *matchmake* David and Lori!"
 	The look on her face is thunderstruck. . .like it's the last thing in the
world she expected to hear.
 	"Matchmake. . .as in, try to make them a couple?"
 	"Yes! Glen says he's had visions of the two of them together. . .it may
be destiny! They may be meant to be a couple!"

 * * *

 AMY

 	They're going to make them. . .a *couple*? Gods, I thought the trying to
get them together as friends idea was nutty. . .
 	Before, if she said something like that to me, it would have upset me to
no end. The controversy thrown in my face again. . .
 	But now. . .it's not bothering me. She wants to get them together? Fine.
That's her problem and theirs, not mine. The whole thing has nothing to do
with me.
 	And it's not what I wanted to talk about, either. I wanted to try to get
her to open up about. . .what she does with Glen in their most private
 moments. I want to know if she knows any tricks, any techniques . .
.anything that could make our love life hotter. After all, they've *got* to
have an exciting love life. . .why, whenever he comes to Japan, we barely
see them around town at all! They must be spending time behind closed
doors, trying to make up for all the time they spend apart.  . .(Gods, just
listen to me. . .I would have never *dreamed* of thinking of my friends'
private lives like this before!)
 	But instead, she wants to talk about. . .David and Lori.
 	Perhaps I can nudge the conversation back in the direction I want it to 
go.
 	"So, that's how you've been spending *all* your time? Plotting about
David and Lori?"
 	She laughs. "Amy! Don't be silly! We've been doing other things. Last
 night. . .we had a very. . .romantic evening."
 	"Really? Mina. . .can I ask you something?"
 	"Sure."
 	"What is it like. . .when you and Glen. . .are intimate?"
 * * *
 MINA
 	Whoa. THAT came out of nowhere!
 	"Amy. . .what are you talking about?"
 	"You know. When you're together. . .alone . . .at night?"
 	I can't believe she's asking that! *Amy*, of all people! What the heck
 brought *this* on all of a sudden?
 	I think she notices how shocked I am. She turns red and says very
quickly, "Well, Adam and I. . .I mean, things are going well, but. . .I
want to make
 them even better, and. . .I was wondering what other people do when they.
. ." She breaks off entirely, looking like she's going to run away.
 	What the heck do you say to something like that, especially when it comes
right out of the blue? I love Amy to death, she's one of my dearest
 friends. . .but I just don't feel comfortable talking about it. What's
between me and Glen is, well. . .just between me and Glen.
 	"Um, Amy. . .I don't know if I can. . .I mean, it's not easy for me to
talk about. . .you're a great friend, but. . ."
 	She looks disappointed, but she says, "It's all right. I understand."

 * * *

 AMY

 	Oh, Gods. . .maybe that was a bad idea. Maybe it was in bad taste to
bring that kind of thing up at all.
 	I don't have any experience talking about that. I've always been the shy
one, the quiet one, the one who cringed when one of the others mentioned
something to do with her sex life. I don't know how to approach other
people about it.
 	I find myself doing some major backpedaling, saying "I understand," and
then adding, quickly, "I won't ask you about it ever again, I'm sorry I
brought it up."
 	There is a pause. . .and then, she drapes an arm across my shoulders.
 	"Don't worry about it. Look, just because I don't feel like talking about
it now doesn't mean I won't feel like it later. And you may want to talk to
Serena or Lita or Raye, they might want to share with you."
 	Would they? I think. Or will I get the same reaction all over again. . .
 	Well. . .I'll never know until I try, right? Besides, Serena's let
 information about her and Darien drop in conversation more than once. .
 .thanks to her, we all know what the term "G-spot" means. And Lita's been
pretty open about her personal life lately, especially since patching
things up with Ken. . .
 	Okay, I'll ask the others! And meanwhile, there's other ways of finding
out what I need to know. . .

 * * *
 MINA
 	Well, that was weird.
 	Imagine, Amy. . .sweet, innocent Amy. . .wanting to know about *my* sex
life! I mean, I'd expect that kind of thing from Serena. . .or maybe Lita.
But Amy?
 	Maybe this whole smut controversy is starting to get to her, and she's
going a bit looney. She's got tobe right in the middle of it, if Adam goes
to that college.
 	All the more reason for Glen and I to bring the whole mess to an end by
bringing David and Lori together!
	I get up and head back toward the hotel. . . I'm supposed to meet up with
Glen there. He said something about wanting to go to the campus pub, to see
if David or Lori were there so he could meet them firsthand.
	Suddenly, I see Raye and Chad walking toward me, loaded down with bags
from the grocery store. I give them a big wave. "Hi, guys! Over here!"
	"Hey, Mina," Raye says. "Where's Glen?"
	"Oh, I'm on my way to meet back up with him now. We've got big plans for
the rest of the day!"
	"Oh, really?" says Chad. Hey, is that a nudge-nudge-wink-wink-say-no-more
tone in his voice?
	"Yes," I say. "We're going to bring David and Lori together!"
	Raye and Chad both look like they've been hit by lightning. What? Was it
something I said? They look at each other, and then back at me.
	Raye says, "Are you INSANE?"
	"No! I'm *very* sane! It's *David* that's insane! You see, he's obsessed
with Lori because she represents everything he wants and can't have, but
they have more in common with each other than they're letting on, and Glen
said he had a vision that means they're connected with destiny, and I have
Lori's phone number and we're going to see if we can. . ."
	"MINA!" says Raye. "Hel-LO. . .David and Lori *hate each other's guts*! If
you put them together, they'll do nothing but kill each other!"
	"She's right, you know," Chad says. "I've seen that Lori in action. .
.she's brutal!"
	"Things like that just *don't happen*, Mina!" Raye says.
	I reach into the top of her bag, pull out her new yaoi manga and wave it
in her face, saying, "And THIS is realistic?"
	She drops her other bags, snatches it out of my hands with lightning speed
and stuffs it WAY down in the bag, looking around her quickly as if to
check if anyone saw her with it. "That's just a MANGA," she says. "That's
not fooling around with *real people's lives*!"
	"But Raye. . .you're psychic. Don't you believe in visions of destiny?"
	"Oh, I believe in them, all right. And I also believe in not jumping to
conclusions before I've weighed *all* the possibilities. You're going off
half-cocked here, Mina!"
	"Take my advice and stay out of the whole David and Lori thing," Chad
says. "Been there, done that, don't wanna do it again."
	Raye picks up the rest of her bags. "Look, we've got to get going. . .just
*please* don't do anything stupid, okay?"
	Stupid? I don't think it's stupid. Not at all.
	"I won't. Goodbye, Raye. . .Chad!"
	As I start back to the hotel again, I think. . .well, what does *she*
know? She only ran into Lori in the bookstore. She hasn't talked to both
her *and* David.  How could she possibly know what's *really* going on? She
can't know. . .not like Glen and I do.
He's there when I arrive. We give each other a huge hug and kiss. "How was
your visit?"
 	"Dreadfully dull, just like I expected. I swear, if I had any brothers,
I'd push this bothersome lordship off on them. I just can *not* deal with
those people."
 	"Well, you don't have to deal with anything but me for the rest of the
day!" I reply. "Oh, yes. . .and maybe David and Lori. . ."
 	He sighs. "I'm still not a hundred percent sure we're doing the right
thing. The impressions I got. . .they were ambiguous. . ."
 	"Glen. . .it'll work out. Trust me, I know about these things. After all,
I *am* the priestess of the goddess of love, right?"
 	He hugs me close. "Sometimes, I think you're the goddess herself, not
just the priestess."
 	"You keep reminding me of how much I love you."
 	We head for the campus. . .and as we get near, Glen starts to look funny,
as if he suddenly felt sick.
 	"Glen. . .are you okay?"
 	He shakes his head, as if to clear it. "This place. . ."
 	"What? What's wrong?"
 	"I'm picking up the vibrations from that place. It feels. . .like chaos.
Like a total whirlpool of emotional turmoil."
 	"You can pick up on people's feelings?"
 	"Not exactly. . .but people's emotions can influence their vibrations.
And this particular vibration. . ." He shakes his head again. "Pure
turmoil."
 	"Do you want to leave?"
 	"No. This has made me even more curious."
 	We find the pub. It's considerably less crowded than it was the other
night. Neither David nor Lori is anywhere to be found, and neither are any
of their followers.
 	"Darn," I say. "From what I've heard, one or the other of them is always
there."
 	"Well, they're probably both out campaigning, or doing whatever it is
they do."
 	"Oh, well. We can always go back to the arcade and. . ."
 	Just then, Lori flies into the pub like a bat out of hell, storms right
past us and marches up to the counter.
 	"Large coffee," she says. "I need the caffeine *now.*"
 	One of her friends comes in behind her. "Lori, calm down. You don't know
for sure his people did it."
 	"Well, who the hell else could it be? How many people do you know would
spray-paint 'Sluts and Lesbos' across all our signs? It sure as HELL
wasn't the Boy Scouts!"
 	I look over at Glen. He's got a pained expression on his face, as if
being in the same vicinity as Lori was like standing too close to a fire.
 	"It could just be somebody playing a prank, you know!"
 	"Some prank! It *has* to be David Chase. Nobody else would be that
 malicious."
 	"Lori. . .look, sometimes it seems like you're obsessing over that guy. .  
."
 	"I am NOT obsessing! I'm just trying to protect what I believe in, that's
all! *He's* the one who's obsessed! *He's* the one making *my* life a
living hell!"
 	"Lori, if you'd just take a break for a day or two, maybe you'd see
things more clearly. . ."
 	"Are you kidding? This close to the voting? If I take a break, I might as
well throw in the towel and admit defeat." She storms back past us, her
 friend in tow, saying, "I've worked too long and too hard to sit back and
just watch that guy. . ." Her voice fades away as they leave the pub.
 	Glen and I both take deep breaths, and look at each other.
 	"I want to get out of here," he says. "Now."
 	We leave the pub, the campus. Once we're a couple of blocks away, he
seems to relax a bit.
 	"Glen. . .what happened?"
 	"That Lori. . .I usually can't pick up on specifically what's in people's
heads, but that woman's mind shines like a lighthouse."
 	"Really?"
 	"Because she's so in turmoil. The impression I got was somebody who's
just boiling over with emotion. But there was something else. . .something
that's hard to put into words. . .the only way I can describe it is that it
was a sense of destiny."
 	"Destiny?"
 	"Like something momentous is about to happen to her, and on some
subconscious level, she knows it."
 	"You think it could be love?"
 	"It could be *destiny.* Anything from switching schools to deciding to
change her major. It could even be something that's happened to heralready.
I can't tell *exactly* what it is, Mina."
 	"And her friend said she was *obsessed* with David, just like David's
obsessed with Lori. There has to be *something* there, Glen! Okay, maybe
that it's just that they're both sick. . .maybe that's they're shared
destiny, to be wackos together. But what if it's something else. . ."
	"It could very well be that they're destined to be wackos together. It
could also be that there's something much darker in their shared past lives
that could come out if we're not careful. Remember, Mina. . .you had all
your friends follow you from the Silver Millennium into this life. . .but
enemies can follow each other across lifetimes as well."
	"Okay, so they *may* be enemies. And they *may* be friends. We'll never
know until we try to do something, will we?"
 	"Mina. . .it's too close to call, it really is. If only I could tell you
absolutely. . ."
 	"Were there any absolutes with your friends at school?"
 	He pauses. "No. . .no, there wasn't."
 	"And you said that worked out. Glen. . .sometimes you just have to go
with your heart."
 	I reach into my purse and bring out Lori's phone number.
 	"I'm going to leave it up to you, Glen. If you *really* don't want to do
this, I'll just toss this away."
 	He just looks at it for a moment. . .seemingly deep in thought. . .
 	And then, he says, "Now, what are we going to do with this phone number?"
 	I give him a big smile. "Have you got any suggestions?"
 	"Hmm. . ." he says. "Well, you said you'd volunteered to help her pass
out fliers. . ."
 	"Yes."
 	"Call her up. . .tell her you can't make it. . .but tell her you still
want to help out. Then ask her to meet you somewhere. . .like the cafe.
Give her a specific booth to meet you at."
 	"And? How's that going to get her together with David?"
 	"I'll get David's number from Ken. And I'll tell him I'm interested in
helping out with his cause. . .and I'll ask him to meet up with me at the
same booth. Then, we both call the cafe and tell them we've been delayed. .
.which gives them some time alone together."
 	"And. . .how's that going to help?"
 	"Well, from the sounds of it. . .they've never been *alone together.*
Both of them have always been surrounded by their groups of followers. This
will be the first time they've really had to *talk*, to get to know each
other on neutral turf."
 	"And they'll be on the road to falling in love!" I give him another huge
hug. "Oh, honey, you're a genius!"
 	He smiles. "Well, if nothing else, it'll give me a chance to revive some
of my best school memories. . ."


* * *
 AMY
 	It's late at night. My mom's home tonight, so I'm sleeping at home, not
at Adam's.
 	I'm using the time for research.
 	I wasn't quite sure where to begin. I tried entering "female sexuality"
in a search engine, and got hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds of hits. I
finally clicked on one at random, one that looked promising: "The Secret
Garden of Eve." What I got was an entire page filled with artificial
vibrating penises. I just looked at them for a moment. . .I'd never seen
anything like that before. . .did they really work? Did they produce a
feeling like a real man?
	And then, I realized what it was I was looking at, and quickly hit the
back button, feeling my cheeks get hot with embarassment.
 	The next page was filled with just straight medical information. I
already know all that, where everything is and how everything works. I want
to know how to use them *creatively.*
 	Now, I just found a page called "Women's Confessions," which is,
supposedly, all stories from women sharing their true-life experiences.
Except I don't know how some of these things could be true. I don't know
how they could be *anatomically possible.* I mean, according to themedical
page. . .an erect penis is only *so* flexible. . .
  	I click off of that page and think again about what happened with Mina
this afternoon. My approach must have been all wrong. She must have felt
like I'd put her on the spot.
 	I do so want to talk to my friends about this. Maybe if I just *hint*
that I want to know explicit stuff, rather than asking directly. . .they'll
volunteer the information.
 	And I so want the information. I want to know everything I can possibly
do for him and for me, every way that I can make our sex life better than
it's ever been before!
	Maybe I should talk to Lita next. She can be pretty open about that kindof
thing. . .she told me about how those same stories everyone's beenmaking a
fuss over made such a positive difference in her sex life. I triedreading a
couple of ones that looked non-violent and promising, and they didn't do a
thing for me. . .I just couldn't get past how just plain
*silly* most of them were.
 	What a strange and wonderful feeling, this wanting to do everything,
experience everything. . .I feel like something that was buried deep inside
me has been freed. Now I just have to figure out just how to *use* that
something.
 	And this stuff on the Internet, I think, is no use to me at all.
	But why is it no use to me. . .and it's useful to my friends? Why did it
change Lita's life for the better, and it's had no effect on me whatsoever?
Am I missing something that everyone else is getting?
	The answer has *got* to be out there somewhere. And I know I'll find it.
Seeking out and finding knowledge is what I've always been best at, right?
It just *can't* elude me forever. . .

 * * *

 MINA
 	I wake up knowing that this is going to be a tremendous day.
 	We made our phone calls last night. Everything is all set up and ready. .
.David and Lori both think they're going to Crown Cafe at noon today to
meet up with new volunteers.
 	Won't they be surprised when they find out who they're *really* going to
be meeting?
 	I roll over and look at Glen. I think he's getting into it, I really do.
He talked less and less about "interfering with destiny" as last night went
on. At one point, he even said, "I can't wait to see what happens!"
 	Oh, wouldn't it be wonderful if everything *did* work out, and we could
share a little of our happiness with them. . .
 	He stirs, awakens. I lean over and give him a kiss. "This is it!" I  
whisper.
	"Mmm. . .that kiss was definitely 'it,' all right!"
 	"No, silly! I meant David and Lori! Today's the day!"
 	"Ah, yes. . .our project." He smiles.
 	"Yep! Operation David and Lori!"
 	"And here's to the project being a success." He brings his mouth to mine,
and we kiss softly. . .then hotter. . .
 	Then, I catch sight of the clock. I pull away from him abruptly,
shouting, "OH, GODS. . .WE OVERSLEPT!" Leaping out of the bed, I grab for
my overnight bag.
 	"Mina,  what's. . ." Then, he sees the time himself. "Oh, NO! It's 11:30!"
 	"They're supposed to meet up at noon!" I say, grabbing for a shirt,
pants, bra, underwear. . .
 	"We should have set the alarm," he says, yanking open drawers and
rummaging through his own clothes.
 	"Yes!" I say. "You know what they say. . .snooze it and lose it!"
 	We manage to throw everything on in record time, grab the room key and my
purse, and hightail it out of there.

 * * *
 AMY

 	Just like Adam promised me yesterday, he's meeting up with me for lunch.
 	We get to Crown Cafe, and it's pretty crowded. We end up in one of the
booths in the back. As I'm looking at the menu, I manage to catch a glimpse
of someone at the booth opposite us out of the corner of my eye. . .
 	It's Lori. And she looks impatient, like she's waiting for someone. She
keeps checking her watch, looking toward the entrance of the cafe. . .
 	And then, David comes in. . .and makes a beeline for the same booth
Lori's sitting at.
 	Something's up. I reach over, tap Adam's arm and nod in their direction.
 	David stops by the booth. "Oh. . .I'm in the wrong place."
 	"You're *always* in the wrong place. Literally and figuratively," says  
Lori.
 	"I'm not in a mood to fight, Lori. I'm here to meet someone."
 	"What a coincidence. . .so am I. I was told at the back left hand booth
at noon. . ."
 	"So was I. Look, once my person comes, we'll clear out of here. The last
thing in the world I want to do is get in *your* way." (Her voice is fairly
dripping sarcasm).
 	"No, no need. We'll leave and the booth will be all yours." He's just
 standing there next to her, and there's a heavy silence for a few minutes. .  .
 	She sighs. "Look, you might as well sit down." He does. . .and there's
 another silence. . .
 	Lori looks at her watch, sighs again. "She's late."
 	"Friend of yours?"
 	"Not really. . .just some kid who wants to help out. I usually don't take
help from people off-campus. . .but thanks to *you* and your little tribe,
I need all the help I can get."
 	"What a coincidence. I'm waiting for a new helper myself. But not because
I feel threatened."
 	"Threatened? Who said anything about feeling threatened?"
 	David heaves a heavy sigh. "Lori, you have a tendency to *always* go on
the defensive, right away. And that's not helping you *or* your cause."
 	"What's that supposed to mean?"
 	"It means you're always looking for a *fight* instead of a *discussion*.
If you believe in your cause so much. . .why do you feel you always have to
*scream* about it? You should be able to discuss it quietly, with
confidence.  . ."
 	"Are you questioning my commitment to my cause? How *dare* you! I've
devoted my *entire life* to getting rid of smut. . ."
 	"I'm not *questioning* anything! I'm just pointing something out. . ."
 	"Gods damn it, where IS that girl?" she says, looking at her watch again.
"She's almost 20 minutes late now!"
 	"So's my appointment." They go back to stony silence. . .
 * * *

 MINA

 	The booth they're sitting at is near an "employees only" storeroom.
 Fortunately, I'm friends with the family who runs the cafe. . .so Glen and
 I get to be "employees". . .if only for an hour.
 	We're crouched inside the storeroom, watching and listening to what's
going on. . .or, at the moment, not going on.
 	"This is *not* working," he says.
 	"Give it time," I reply. "Hey, at least they're not *fighting.*  If they
 sit there long enough, they'll have to talk. . ."
 	Sure enough, Lori breaks the silence. But she's not willing to let his
 previous remarks drop.
 	"I still can't believe you questioned my commitment."
 	"I'm *not* questioning your commitment! It's more like. . .your style.
 You're too defensive, Lori. You need a more mellow approach. . ."
 	"Oh, like *your* approach is so great! You can't control your own people
anymore! Don't think I don't know they defaced my signs! And you think I
don't know about that cafeteria brawl they started?"
 	"It was never proven *who* started it. It could have been your supporters
or it could have been mine. . ."
 	"My supporters don't *do* things like that!"
 	"I'm sorry. . .but I've been hearing reports of them creating
disturbances in video stores, trying to block people from going into the
back rooms. . ."
 	"Those aren't my *core* supporters! They were fringe people! Lunatics!
People whose support I never *asked* for. . ."
 	"And how is that different from the people who were involved in the
brawl? They weren't my *core* supporters, either."
	"Oh, yeah? I heard the treasurer of your little Freedom League was the one
who threw the first punch!"
	"That's only because one of *your* people had just dumped a full cup of
hot coffee on his head. And it was *your* people who started the
chair-throwing. . .and it was only after *that* started that half the
cafeteria got involved! You'd better be careful, Lori. . .it seems like
you've got some very unstable people in your group."
 	She seems to bite back a retort. . .looks at her watch again. . .sighs.
 "Dammit, that girl isn't coming. The hell with her."
 	"Mine isn't coming, either." He shakes his head. "Maybe the heat of this
whole mess got too great for both of them, and they bailed out. . ."
 	Then, a look comes over Lori's face. . .as if a not-pleasant idea just
 bloomed in her mind.
 	"Oh, my GOD. . .we've been set up!"
 	"What?"
 	"The girl who called me. . .the guy who called you. . .they're in
cahoots! They wanted to get us together for some reason. . ."
 	"You don't think. . ."
 	"I DO think! And whoever they are. . .they're fulla shit!" And she grabs
her coat and purse with a sweeping motion and stalks out of the cafe.
 He starts after her, calling, "LORI! LORI!". . .but she's gone.
 	It's over.
  	And it was a dismal failure.
 	Glen and I just look at each other. It's as if all the romance has gone
 out of the air. . .including the romance between us.
 	We slip out the back door of the storeroom, so we're outside. I just
don't know what to say. . .
 	So Glen says it for me. "I can't believe what just happened."
 	"Neither can I. They don't *talk*, Glen! They don't even *try* to talk!
They just *fight*!"
 	He lets out a sigh. "Lori, especially. She was gunning for a fight before
he even said a single word."
 	"I guess I'm not such a good priestess of the goddess of love anyway," I
sigh. "I'm a poor judge of who belongs with who. . ."
 	"I should have gone with my first gut feeling. We were toying with  
destiny."
 	"And destiny bit back at us," I sigh.
 	All that work, all that planning. . .for nothing. It was a total washout.
Destiny? What destiny?
 	What a terrible way for Glen's visit to Japan to end. . .

 * * *
 AMY

 	I look out the window. . .is that Mina and Glen sneaking out a back
entrance?
 	Oh, Gods. . .it is!
 	I should have known that Mina would be the one to set them up, especially
after what she was saying yesterday. Sometimes, she takes the whole
"priestess of the goddess of love" thing *much* too seriously.
 	Adam is shaking his head. "Yet another Lori and David blowup. . ."
 	"I think I know who set them up," I say. "Mina."
 	"Mina?"
 	"Remember, she dragged me down to the campus the other day to basically
spy on Lori. . ."
 	"That's right!"
 	At first, I think that I have to have a talk with her about this later. .
 .but think better of it. After all. . .the whole David and Lori thing *is*
no more of my concern. I'm totally free of it. Let those two do whatever
they want, it's their business, however much Mina tried to make it hers.
 	I've got better things to think about now. Such as the best way to go
 about doing my research. . .and what to do with the information once I've
 gathered it. . .
 * * *

 MINA

 	I'm lying alone in my room, on my bed. No lights on.
 	I'm *incredibly* depressed.
 	Okay, you might think I got my hopes up too high, that I pinned all my
 hopes on something that probably wasn't going to happen.
 	But damn it, I thought there was something *there*! Especially after Glen
talked about that "sense of destiny" he felt around Lori. . .
 	Artemis pushes open the door and comes in. "Mina. . .are you just going
to lie there?"
 	"Yes."
 	"Your mother is going to think you're sick, you know."
 	"I don't care."
 	He hops up on the bed. "Something happen with Glen?"
 	"No. . .not really. It's just. . .Artemis, have you ever had anything
completely, totally and utterly blow up in your face?"
 	"Literally or figuratively?"
 	"I mean, as in experiencing total, humiliating, crushing failure. . ."
 	"Mina. . .what happened? Tell me. You know you can tell me anything."
 	And so, I tell him the whole story, from first meeting David in the cafe
to the final failure of their meeting. When I'm done, he says, "Mina, I
 think you expected too much. I think you expected them to just talk for a
few minutes in the cafe, realize they're soul mates and fall into each
other's arms. This isn't a soap opera or a romance manga. . .those things
 normally take *time*."
 	"But I just had this feeling. . .this hunch. . .that something was going
 to happen between them! And something *did* happen. . .but it was
terrible! Glen was right when he said bad things happen when you mess with
destiny. And Raye was right when she said that I was nuts." I flop over on
the bed and heave a big sigh. "I've always learned to trust my hunches,
especially when it comes down to people in love. Plus, when Glen said he
got that destiny impression of Lori. . ."
 	"Mina, if there's anything being a Sailor Soldier should have taught you,
it's that destiny takes many forms. Glen was right when he said it didn't
have to *necessarily* be a romance for Lori. It's also possible that her
destiny is linked to his because of something negative, something having to
do with this controversy."
 	"And meanwhile, I ruined Glen's trip."
 	"I don't think any trip where he got to be with you can exactly count as
*ruined*. A bit disappointing, yes. . .but not ruined."
 	"Artemis. . .do you think I *have* interfered with destiny? Do you think
I *have* ruined any chance they had of getting together?"
 	"Mina. . .destiny can't be forced. If something is meant to happen, it
will. . .in its own time. You'll have to wait and see from here."
 	I sigh and stare out the window. Wait and see. . .wait and see. . .it
could take months before we find out if it's destiny or not. . .
 	And the wait, for me, is going to be eternal.
  * * *

 AMY

 	I'm alone in my bedroom, no lights on. The computer's turned on, though.
I'm going to need it.
 	I feel great tonight. I feel daring, experimental. I feel *me*. Truly
 *me.*
 	Adam and I are sleeping in separate beds again tonight. . .but that
doesn't mean we'll be alone.
 	I dial up my modem, connect, sign on to ICQ. Ah, yes, he's online. . 
.good.
 	And I send him a message. . .
 	"Guess what I'm not wearing?"

AUTHOR'S NOTES: I'd like to send a *huge* thank-you to my editor on this
series, Steve Savage, whose input has been absolutely invaluable. He's a
good editor and friend, and he also writes. Check out his all-original
fantasy series, Xai, at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/xai/ Trust me,
you'll love it!

Special thanks also go to the members of Lemon Tree and to all the readers
who've written me (sailormac@wjjz.com) to give me comments on my fics! And
thanks to Sailor Skuld, who has just retired from ASMR. She was the first
webmaster to publish my work and has given me inspiration and
encouragement throughout my "career." I'll never be ableto thank you
enough, M-chan!

Standard Sailor Moon disclaimers apply. These characters ain't mine, I'm
just borrowing them for a little while.