Seiko 
                ==<<==<(@ 

A fanfic by Chiba Mamoru, as re-told to Pandora Diane Waldron 

                     @)~~~>>~~~~ 

Part II
=====
There was yet another uncomfortable silence in the room.  I don't 
know which of us was most embarrassed, but it's the first time I 
ever saw the Seiko the Ice Queen lose her cool.  But only for a
gulping, sweatdropping, moment.  Every eye was on her, except 
that is, Usako.  My junk food queen was in pastry nirvana and not 
paying much attention to the goings-on.

But finally, Saori said, a trifle *too* carelessly, I realize now, "Oh, 
he's just my old classmate from school."  Chibi Usa wasn't buying 
that, I could tell.  She was scrutinizing Saori narrowly, and even
a bit nervously.   I decided I needed to correct this erroneous 
impression she had formed about our relationship.

"We were at the same school, it's true, but I haven't done as well 
as you!" I said to Seiko, and I meant it.
"No...please!" Seiko, blushed, embarrassed.  [Seems to be her 
day for it, I thought.]
I turned to Usako and told her, "She's going to be a police officer 
after graduation."
My Usako's sky blue eyes got big as saucers.  She's cute when 
she does that.  "A female police officer--wow!!" she cried.
But Kobayashi was not to be outdone.  "Not just a police officer! 
Saori's going to be head of our county's police department!"  And 
then he beamed at Saori fatuously.
Now Seiko was *really* uncomfortable. "Stop teasing me!" she 
cried.
Kobayashi was indignant. "I'm NOT teasing you, Saori-san.  I have 
a lot of respect for you."
Usako was still starry-eyed. "Head of the police department?  How 
wonderful! I should think about doing that too." [Cripes, I thought I 
was going to choke on my green tea when she said that.]

The party broke up soon after that.  After they left, Usako was 
babbling away about how as a powerful Senshi, she would make a 
wonderful police chief.  To heck with being head of the department, 
she was going to be police chief.  "The Pretty Sailor Soldier will 
solve every crime in Tokyo!!  Can't you just see me, Police Chief 
Tsukino Usagi, sitting at my desk?"
"Uhhh, no..." I had to reply, honestly.
"Mamo-chan!" she squeaked.  "You're always saying I should work 
harder, be more ambitious.  And whenever I get an idea, you shoot 
it down.  You never, never, take me seriously!"
"Seriously, Usako, if you don't stop gobbling pastries and 
daydreaming, SITTING at a desk will be all you can do--you won't 
be able to walk!"
"Mamo-chan!!" her squeak went up 20 decibels.  She was turning 
red.  I did know I'd put my foot in it again, minna-san.  But by this 
time, I knew how to pull myself out of sticky situations like this
with my wounded Princess.
After one sweatdropping moment, I cleared my throat.  "Usako, 
would you mind helping me clear away the dishes?  No, it's OK, 
Chibi Usa, we can handle this.  Back in a few minutes."

Usako picked up the dishes without a word, but she was looking at 
me out of the corner of her eyes, reproachfully.  She stacked the 
dishes in the dishwasher, with a loud clatter.  I winced.  My best
porcelain dishes!  But I said nothing.
"That was mean....!" she started to say.

NOW!  I thought.  Grabbed her and kissed her, hard.  Took the 
breath right out of her.  I wish I'd known to do this when I first met 
her.  It would have saved a lot of misunderstandings, methinks.  
When I finally let her catch her breath, but still kept holding her, her 
eyes were starry, and there was a dazed, happy look on her little 
round face.

"Oh, Mamo-chan...." she murmured, softly.  I decided that more 
"apologizing" was called for.  When I was able to disengage from 
those sweet lips of hers for a moment, I whispered in her ear that I 
was sorry for teasing her.  And then I decided to play my trump 
card.  "Isn't Chibi Usa going to her friend's tonight to rehearse for 
the school play?"  [As if I didn't know the answer to that, perfectly
well.]
"Yes, she is.  Why?"  Usako looked puzzled.
With a glint in my eye, I continued, "Well, you see, I made all this 
chicken yakitori for dinner, and I couldn't possibly eat it all myself-- 
I made too much.  Would you like to come to my place for dinner?"
"Mamo-chan, you sneak!" she squeaked.  "You planned this all 
along!"  The sky blue eyes looked at me accusingly.
"Guilty as charged, Officer Tsukino," I grinned.
"That's POLICE CHIEF Tsukino!" she snapped.
"Gomen, Police Chief Tsukino.  And I was thinking about going out 
for chocolate sundaes afterwards, that is, if you didn't already have 
way too much sweet stuff today." [When in doubt, prescribe 
chocolate, has always been my motto in life.]
The blue eyes flashed at me, mischievously.  "And how do you 
know that I might not be busy tonight?   Your friend Kobayashi 
kept staring at me, you know."
"Yeah, right.  I saw the way he was staring at you, Usako.  That 
was because he couldn't believe anyone could eat that much and 
still fit in that mini-skirt!"  Usako promptly grabbed the nearest tea
towel and swatted at me with it.  I promptly grabbed HER again.

After a few more minutes of  "apologizing," we both came back 
from the kitchen, having pasted on innocent faces.  Chibi Usa, 
sitting on the couch waiting, never had a clue....

In any case, Chibi Usa was apparently too absorbed in her own 
troubled thoughts to notice we were taking a little longer than 
necessary to put away the dishes.  She had decided that I seemed 
to know Saori far too well to just be her "classmate," and she didn't 
like it at all....

@)>~~~>>~~~~

Meanwhile, in a bar with a tropical decor and no bartender visible, 
three colourful denizens of the Dead Moon Circus sipped their 
cocktails, and talked about what they always talk about....girls.

One, dressed in a strange puffy blue outfit, looking a bit like the 
Michelin tire man, and a long blue pony tail, was looking at a photo 
spread out on the bar: a picture of Saori.  Red pointed fingernails 
made the speaker look feminine, but this was no lady.  This was 
Fish Eye, one of three men searching to find and destroy the 
Pegasus, whose powers of good were a threat to them.  Like the 
other two sitting at the bar, Fish Eye was a circus performer, in his 
case, a tumbler and contortionist. 

The Pegasus' hiding place, they knew, would only be found in the 
dreams of a girl with a truly pure heart.  Each of the three, Fish 
Eye, Hawk Eye and Tiger Eye, was arrogantly convinced that he, 
and he alone, could find that one girl in a thousand.

With lacquered crimson nails, Fish Eye gestured at the 
photograph.  "She's a perfect woman, this one. Very serious, she 
has a strong sense of justice, and she's at the top of all her 
classes."

Sitting next to Fish Eye, a slim young man with long blond hair, a 
red bandanna around his forehead, a necklace of jungle beads 
round his neck, and yellow and black striped tights on his long, 
long legs, was Tiger Eye.  Tiger Eye fancies himself a ladies' man, 
confidently believing he can seduce anything female on the planet. 
It's true that when he's doing his knife throwing act, the ladies are 
definitely dazzled.  The trouble is, Tiger Eye assumes that the 
female gender are all some kind of wild beasts, who need to be 
tamed by his irresistible charms, if not with his whip.  

Unfortunately, once Tiger Eye opens his mouth, he ruins 
everything.  Mastering a good pick-up line, let alone, projecting 
sincerity, is one circus trick which Tiger Eye has never mastered.  
But I digress. 

"You can say that again!" Tiger Eye agreed, enthusiastically.  
"She's the kind of woman who always does her homework, 
faithfully does whatever the adults tell her to do, and she's probably 
the teacher's pet." [Actually, Tiger Eye was wrong about that part.  
Seiko is so very bright that she intimidates the teachers--they're 
afraid she'll spot their mistakes, and embarrass them in front of the 
class.  She's good at that.]

Now Hawk Eye chimed in.  With red hair sticking straight up like a 
flame, it's easy to tell that Hawk Eye is the fire eater of the Dead 
Moon Circus.  Hawk Eye smirked and remarked, "I bet she's the 
kind who tattles to the teacher when the others are lazy in their 
cleaning duties."

Tiger Eye sighed, regretfully, and shook his head.  "This type of 
woman doesn't know much about love."  But a secret smile played 
about his lips.  He, Tiger Eye, was the one man in the world to 
teach her.  Tiger Eye liked nothing better than a woman who 
played hard-to-get.  And anyway, he reasoned to himself, who else 
would be more likely than this goody-goody to be the one special, 
pure-hearted girl who was hiding the Pegasus? 

Hawk Eye replied, "Well, for whatever reasons, she's your type, 
isn't she?"

Tiger Eye grinned wickedly at Hawk Eye. "It's just business." Then, 
just as he turned to leave the room, he said in an undertone, "Mind 
you, if I DO mix this little business trip with pleasure," and here he 
winked, and smirked, "that's MY business, isn't it, and not 
Zirconia's!"

He then held up a one-finger salute in the direction of the Amazon 
trio's crotchety old boss, Zirconia.  Hawk Eye guffawed so hard, he 
spat out his drink.  Fish Eye grinned, though a little more 
hesitantly.  For one thing, he was not sure if Zirconia could hear 
them, and for another, women were not HIS preferred pleasure, in 
any case.

Tiger Eye mockingly bowed to the other two and gave his parting 
shot: "Since she's my Target, and I have to check her out, anyway, 
there's nothing more enticing than the satisfaction of melting an Ice 
Queen!" 

@)>~~~>>~~~~

In the plush animal toy shop, Usako was mulling over a difficult 
decision that had all her little brain cells going full tilt.  In one hand, 
she held a plush hippo, in the other, a plush pony.  "Oh, wow, look 
at these!" she squealed to Chibi Usa.  "They're so adorable!  I wish 
I could afford both of them!  I wonder...which one do you think is 
the cutest?"

It will not surprise you, minna-san, to hear that in all these years, 
Usako's tastes haven't changed very much.  As I believe I 
mentioned before, Neo-Queen Serenity's boudoir in the Crystal 
Palace is still a plush menagerie--there's scarcely an inch left for 
me on that bed.  Fortunately, my furry rivals don't protest when I 
push them off to one side, in order to get close to their equally 
cuddly owner.  I often wish, though, I'd bought stock in Gund plush 
toys or Ty Beanie Babies when I had the chance.  But I digress.

My daughter, Chibi Usa, has not inherited her mother's craze for 
plush animals, and she doesn't like jewellery much, unlike Usako, 
either.  Maybe it's rebellion, maybe it's because Chibi Usa likes to 
think of herself as serious and dignified, and above needing such 
frills.  Whatever the reason, Usako's obsession with collecting 
these things really disgusts Chibi Usa.  But oddly, Usako always 
thinks if she just shows Chibi Usa something really cute, she will 
be won over.  She never, never learns.

Chibi Usa just stared at Usako, witheringly.  "Aren't you even 
worried?  Don't you feel uneasy right now?   I do!"
Usako looked utterly bewildered.  "What on earth do you mean?"
"Don't you ever worry about whether you're in danger of losing your 
happiness?" Chibi Usa asked.
"Why, what do I have to worry about? Well, I do worry a little about 
whether the hippopotamus or the pony is the most perfect addition 
to add to my plush toy collection.  I really don't know which
one I like the best.  Decisions, decisions!"  Usako smiled 
complacently, and gazed at each plush animal in turn.

Chibi Usa snorted in disgust, "They're both HIDEOUS!"
"You just say that because you don't understand what it is to have 
refined taste. But one day you'll learn...." Usako sighed, and 
continued to contemplate the hippo and the pony.
"Actually, it's Mamoru's taste that I can't understand!" Chibi Usa 
remarked, bitterly.
"What on earth does she mean?" Usako thought.  "Oh well, she's 
always getting worked up over nothing...."

@)>~~~>>~~~~

Late in the evening at a popular dessert bar, Usako had almost 
demolished her chocolate sundae, but was having trouble finishing 
it, because I kept making her giggle.  I was regaling her with my 
Kobayashi imitations, you see.  After a visit with him, I could never 
keep a straight face--he has that effect on me.  
"Do that again!" Usako giggled.  "Show me how Kobayashi asks 
you for help with his homework!" 
I could tell that she was pleased and relieved that there was 
someone who had even more trouble with math than she did.
I scrunched my face into the imploring, hangdog face of Kobayashi, 
and raised my voice into a wheedling whine.  "'But sempai!  Please! 
I know you have reports due tomorrow!  But you HAVE to help me 
with this math homework!  You HAVE to!  Please!'"

In my normal voice, I continued, "Usako, I have no idea how 
Kobayashi ever conned himself into getting into university. He's 
always coming to me for advice, and I don't which he is more inept 
at, math, or girls."
Usako grinned at me mischievously.  "And which do you coach 
him in, Mamo-chan?  Math, or girls?"
"Math, of course, the easy one," I grinned back at her.  "I still 
haven't got my B.A. in girls yet, myself!  Oh, and speaking of 
advice, I just wanted to let you know I'll be busy tomorrow 
afternoon.  Saori has asked me for my advice in shopping for a gift 
for some guy she knows.  She says she doesn't know how to 
choose gifts for guys.  Usako, I don't know why everyone comes to 
me for advice.  I'm pretty sure my tastes are a bit unusual, anyway. 
I could tell, from the way Kobayashi looked over my apartment, 
that he'd never decorate his place that way."

Usako put her hand on my arm and smiled, "Mamo-chan, everyone 
knows you have refined tastes.  I should know--I have refined tastes 
too!  So it's not surprising if Saori wants your advice too.  And I 
know you'll be very helpful to her, as you always are to me."

I got a lump in my throat then, at what she said, and the way she 
looked at me.  I'm damned if I'll ever let on that Usako's idea of 
refined taste is very different from mine--she can fill our place to the 
rafters with tacky plush toys and ropes and ropes of beads, for all I 
care.

@)>~~~>>~~~~

On a downtown Tokyo street, a tall slim blond man, wearing a 
tweed jacket and dress pants, and scholarly glasses as well, all 
intended to make him look like an English professor, was wending 
his way towards Saori.  As he spotted Saori, "Professor" Tiger Eye 
leered, and said, under his breath, "There you are, luscious Ms. 
Goody Two-Shoes!" 
Then he began his "bewildered tourist" act, in badly-Japanese-
accented English.  "Excus-a me!"
Saori, eyes peeling for Mamoru, who was meeting her there for 
their shopping trip, ignored him completely.

An angry glint appeared in Tiger Eye's eyes, but he mastered his 
annoyance, and tried harder to sound "English".  "EXCUSE meee!" 
he tried to get her attention again. "What time eees eet now?"

Ahhh, he had said the magic word!  He was asking "Seiko" the 
clock-watcher, the time!!  The one pick-up line that might actually 
cause Saori's head to swivel!
"Seiko" checked her wristwatch, naturally, and replied crisply, "It's 
5:30."
At this, "Professor" Tiger Eye dramatically put his hands over his 
face in horror and said, in English again, "Ohhh myyy Gawd!!  Oh 
no!  Is it time? I'm in trouble!!"

[He was moaning like a soul in torment.  Knife-throwing or lion-
taming, now, those are things Tiger-Eye can do.  But acting?  He's 
painful to watch, let me tell you.]

In Japanese, Seiko asked him, "What happened?"
And Tiger Eye, in Japanese, moaned again, "I was supposed to 
meet the tour guide, and I'm late.  Without the guide, I can't even 
find the restaurant!  NO!!"  

[The moan had become a caterwauling wail of despair.  It was quite 
the three-hankie scene, minna-san.]

Then abruptly, switching moods, the "Professor" removed his 
hands from his face, and with a calculating glint in his eyes, asked 
Saori, "What's your name?  You are very beautiful!  Great!  Super!  
Awesome!  Would you mind if I asked you to have dinner with me?" 

He was laying it on with a trowel.  And to a most unresponsive 
audience, alas.  All that melodrama and hinted romance in the air, 
all completely wasted on the Ice Queen.

Saori replied coolly, "Sorry, I'm meeting someone here."
"Professor" Tiger Eye, sounding like his heart was broken forever, 
wailed, in English again, "Ohhh Myyy Gawd!!"

At that moment, I turned up, not having a clue about who the "lost 
tourist" really was, or even being interested at the time.
Saori wasn't even looking at Tiger Eye, the supposedly lost tourist.  
She beamed, "Oh, Mamoru!"
"Sorry to keep you waiting," I said politely, though I was right on 
time, actually.  Being "Seiko", as usual, she had arrived early.
"That's OK," Seiko smiled.  And we left together for Saori's planned 
shopping trip.

@)>~~~>>~~~~

After we left, Tiger Eye was confronted by his two cronies, sneering 
at his failed attempt to interest Saori.
"If she's with a man, she's not quite the lonely Ice Queen I took her 
for," Tiger Eye said, dejected.  "I'll have to re-think my strategy."
Hawk Eye snickered at Tiger Eye, "Well, anyway, you looked 
like..."
"A total nerd!" chortled Fish Eye, finishing the sentence.  "You 
sure weren't a cool dude!  It's no wonder she wrote you off as a 
total weirdo!"
"Shut up!" Tiger Eye hissed, furiously.  "Next time, I'll take her by 
force!"  He glared after Saori's retreating back, and if he could, I 
think the look he was giving me could have singed my hair.  But of 
course, I had no idea that I had just interrupted a "snatch" by one 
of the infamous Amazon Trio.

@)>~~~>>~~~~

Chibi Usa was having a nightmare.   In her dream, Mamoru told 
Usagi he wanted to end their love, because he realized he'd been in 
love with Saori all along.  Usagi was screaming, "No, no, wait,
Mamoru!"

But the dream Mamoru just replied, "Please forgive me.  Oh, and 
say hello to Chibi Usa!"
The dream Usagi cried out, "But if we don't get married, Chibi Usa 
won't be born!"

At this, Chibi Usa woke from her nap with a start, her mouth wide 
open with horror at the implications.  "This is terrible!"  She said to 
herself.  "This is the biggest pinch I've ever been in!" 
She went out into the street, and to her further horror, saw Mamoru 
and Saori walking side by side down the street, and looking very 
cozy together.
"No way!" Chibi Usa exploded.  Her nightmare, it seemed, had 
come true.  She decided to follow the two, and spy on them.  But 
in doing that, who should she bump into but the jealous Kobayashi,
who was also hiding and spying on the couple.

"Hi!" said Kobayashi, looking down at the smaller spy.
Embarrassed, Chibi Usa stammered, "K-K-Konnichiwa!"

[AUTHOR'S NOTE: Konnichiwa means, approximately, "How do 
you do?" or "Greetings", so I think the closest translation that 
would imply the formality of what Chibi Usa said, would be "Good
afternoon," in this instance.  She is using her "Small Lady" 
manners here, and her father would approve <grin>.]

"So!" cried Kobayashi.  "You're watching them too!  They look 
really good together, don't they?" 
And he sighed wistfully.   Do you know what they call them at the 
university? 'The perfect couple.'  And I think they truly are."

Kobayashi and Chibi Usa stood and watched as Mamoru and Saori 
walked away.  "If only Mamoru had an official girlfriend, I would still 
have a chance.  But there's no use hoping for that...." Kobayashi 
remarked, despondently.
Chibi Usa piped up, "Don't give up!  I'm on your side!"
Then, skipping along side Kobayashi, she began shouting, like a 
tiny cheerleader, "Hooray, hooray for Kobayashi!!  Let's go, let's go, 
Kobayashi!"
But Kobayashi only smiled, a little sadly, and said, "You're a nice 
kid.  I'll see you later."  Then, squaring his shoulders, he left alone.

After a moment's thought, Chibi Usa decided on another prong of 
attack.  If Kobayashi was going to give up so easily, maybe she 
could get Usagi to realize the seriousness of the situation.  So she
needed to find Usagi. And since Usagi had not yet brought home 
any plush toys, she knew just where to look for her....

@)>~~~>>~~~~

Saori was looking up at me, oddly nervous.  It wasn't like her at all. 
"Are you sure you're not too busy?  Please tell me if you really 
don't want to go."

I smiled at her encouragingly.  "No, come on!  It's OK with me. 
Don't worry.  So, what kind of shopping do you want me to help 
you with?"

But getting the answer out of Seiko was surprisingly difficult.  
Usually, she was so precise in what she wanted.  Now all she 
would say was, "Well, ummmm, something nice to buy for a guy.  I 
don't know what.  You're a guy.  Tell me what you would think is a 
nice gift, Mamoru-san." And then she smiled at me, and all of a 
sudden, went quiet and shy again.

I suddenly turned on her sharply and looked at her,  "What is it?  
Did you fall in love with someone, Saori?"

And remarkably, she couldn't meet my eyes.  After a long moment 
of silence, she finally sighed and replied, "I can't talk about it, 
Mamoru.  Please don't ask me.  Can't we just shop for something?"

I was no longer enjoying this shopping trip.  She was making me 
uncomfortable, and I couldn't figure out why.  [Yes, I know, minna-
san.  Dense, wasn't I?]  Then, desperate to get the task over
with, my eye fell on the obvious, conventional "guy gift" hanging 
there on a department store display.   Ties!
"A tie, Saori!"
She looked at me bewildered for a moment, as if she were too lost 
in her own thoughts to understand me.
"A tie, Saori,"  I repeated.  "Get the guy a tie.  That's always in 
good taste."

And still, she blushed and stammered, as if she had suddenly 
become incapable of making any decisions.  Seiko, the decisive 
Seiko--whatever was wrong with her?   All she would say was, "Oh, 
I know nothing about ties.  Mamoru, you pick out a nice one."

So I did.  And mission finally accomplished, we then agreed to 
take a stroll to the local park, and get some fresh air.  I was very
relieved that the strangely uncomfortable shopping trip was over, 
and was hoping that now the task was over, Saori would finally 
relax, and behave more like herself.

@)>~~~>>~~~~

"There she is!"  Chibi Usa gloated to herself.  "I knew I'd find her 
here!"

Yes, there was the Moon Princess, still in the plush toy shop, still 
mooning over which of the adorable plush toys would have to be 
finally left behind.  "This one..." she muttered to herself, eying
the pony.  "On second thought, this one...." she muttered again, 
looking at the hippo.

A pink ponytailed head suddenly popped up at her elbow, six 
inches from Usako's ear.  "Hey!" she yelled.
Usako, understandably, jumped and whirled on her feisty future 
daughter.  "Whaaaaa???  Don't scare me like that!" she cried.
Chibi Usa hissed at Usako, "If you just keep fooling around picking 
out toys, Mamoru is going to be taken away!"
Usako's brow furrowed at this.  "Taken away? By whom?"
Chibi Usa looked ready to stamp her foot.  "How slow you are!  By 
Saori, of course!  How can you be so blind?  Saori is more 
beautiful, she's more mature, more sexy, and obviously, she's much
smarter than you!  So if you think that Mamoru's love will last 
forever, you're just going to get hurt."
 
"Why, I even wished that Saori could be my mom!  I don't like to 
admit it, but if you and Mamoru don't get together, I'll never be born! 
But there you sit, playing around with fuzzy hippos and ponies, 
while they go out together!  Don't you even feel a little bit uneasy 
about it?"  Chibi Usa pointed an accusing finger at Usagi.

Usagi paused to consider this idea, and began to feel uncertain.  
"Mamo-chan, please don't hate me!"  She cried aloud.
"You see what I mean, don't you?" Chibi Usa replied.  "So you'd 
better start acting more mature...."

But Usagi suddenly broke into a smile.   She told me later that she 
had remembered all the fun we had just a few hours before, how 
relaxed I'd been, how affectionate and teasing, and had confided to
her my true thoughts about my friends, something, she said to me, 
that I never would have been comfortable enough to do when we 
first knew one another.  That was true, I had to admit to
her; before Usako became a part of my life, I was very solitary, and 
had never confided my real feelings to anyone.

"No, he wouldn't!" she sang out confidently, at last.  "How could I 
ever doubt that Mamo-chan loves me?  You don't know anything, 
Chibi Usa.  What I'm really worried about is whether the
hippopotamus or the pony would look better on my dresser.  And 
which would go better with my decor, do you think?"
Chibi Usa groaned, and looked, if it were possible, even more 
disgusted.  Grabbing Usagi's shirt impatiently, she dragged her out 
of the store. 

@)>~~~>>~~~~

Meanwhile, Seiko and I were sitting in the sunshine, the tie gift-
boxed in her hand. She still seemed uncomfortable, so I decided to 
try gently drawing her out.  I grinned at her and began, "So, do I
know this guy?"
Seiko blushed again.
"I mean, do I know this guy you want to give the tie to?"
"Are you curious about it?" The blue eyes darted over to me, 
almost hopefully.  And still, baka that I was, the truth didn't dawn 
on me.
"Kind of, " I smiled at her.  "You know, I can't really imagine the 
type of guy you would fall for, Saori-san."
The smile died on her face.  Seiko seemed to draw in on herself.  
For a moment there, she had been going to tell me her thoughts.  
Now, I had obviously said the wrong thing, and no confidences were
going to be forthcoming.  I sighed inwardly.  No one, it seemed, 
would ever break through to the Ice Queen.  After all our years of 
friendship, still, she had her barriers up.
Her voice was chilly. "What do you mean?"
"Gomen nasai (I'm very sorry), Saori-san.  Did I say something to 
offend you?"
"Does it seem so strange to you?" Seiko asked, with a note of 
sadness in her voice.
"What do you mean? The tie?" I was still totally in the dark.
"No, does it seem so impossible for a woman like me to have 
feelings for someone?"  Saori was almost in tears at this point and 
I felt terrible.  What an insensitive baka I had been, worse than
Kobayashi.  I felt ashamed.

But before I could react, suddenly, there was that "English 
professor" back again. He was there at Saori's side, before either of 
us noticed him stealthily approaching.

Tiger Eye, still pretending to be a "lost tourist", accosted Saori with 
the same question as before.  His English accent still would never 
fool anyone who had heard real English speakers into thinking that
he was anything but Japanese, but it didn't matter this time.  He 
had given up on attracting Saori, or getting her to go to dinner with 
him--this time, he only needed to distract her for a moment. 

"Excuse-aa meee.  What time eees eet now?" he asked, using 
exactly the same English words as before [and I'll bet, one of the 
only English phrases Tiger-Eye knew].

Seiko looked up, always willing to help, bent down again to check 
her watch, and replied, "Well...."
And Tiger Eye chortled, again in English, "You are my target!" And 
then, with a motion of his arms, the magic mirror appeared and as 
he counted, "One--Two--Three!"  handcuffs and ankle cuffs
materialized, and trapped poor Saori against the mirror.  While she 
was thus imprisoned, Tiger Eye could look into her most cherished 
dreams within her heart, and see if the Pegasus lay hidden within
those dreams.

Horrified, I cried out to her, "Saori!"  Instantly, Tiger Eye spun on 
his heel, and lashed out at me with his whip, knocking me to the 
nearby stairs.  Before I could recover, with a flashing wrist
gesture,  he hurled at least a dozen throwing knives at me, 
impaling my clothes from all sides against the steps.  Struggle as I 
might, I couldn't move--I was pinned to the spot, as helpless as 
Saori, and couldn't move to transform to Tuxedo Kamen, if I had 
wanted to.  I lay, a helpless and angry spectator, as Tiger Eye 
approached Saori.

Now Saori tried something desperate, and brave.  She spoke to 
Tiger Eye as a police officer would, vainly hoping it would frighten 
him. "What are you doing?" she cried out sharply, indignantly.
"This is assault!"
"Oh, is it?" Tiger Eye sneered, and he leaned in close to her, 
drooling over his captive.  Bound in cuffs to his mirror, she was no 
longer a formidable Ice Queen, let alone a future police officer.  She 
was just a woman, any woman, and his to do as he pleased with, 
now she was within his power.
 
"Stop!" she squeaked. "Right now, your charge is a minor one...."
Tiger Eye snickered. "Charge?  My lovely one, you're not going to 
charge me with anything.  Now keep still, and let me see your 
beautiful dream!   Show me, where is Pegasus?"  Then he entered 
her heart, through the magic of the dream mirror.  Saori cried out in 
agony, and lost consciousness.


TO BE CONTINUED in Seiko, Part III
=============<<===========<(@
Final note:*  The title "Seiko"  in relation to Sailor Moon, and the 
fan fiction of this title, is legally copyright of Pandora Diane 
Waldron.  If you wish to quote from it on a web site, or otherwise 
publish it, please ask permission of the author, by e-mailing 
pwaldron@idirect.com.  If you use it on a web site without the 
author's permission, that constitutes copyright infringement.  I have 
never said no to anyone yet, OK?  And yes, please e-mail me 
anyway with your comments.  E-mail from our fans, please don't 
forget, is the only *pay* we fanfic authors receive for our hours of 
effort.  So please e-mail me and tell me a little about yourself, what 
city you live in, and your interests. All of you are roses in MY 
garden, and I like to *see* your colours. 
===============<<==========================<(@
                             

========================<<===========================(@
Pandora Diane Waldron      pwaldron@idirect.com
Toronto, Ontario CANADA    ICQ: UIN: 3471229   
=====<<========================================(@
MY FANFICS: "The Rose Garden" "Fiore: The Turning Point"; 
"Tuxedo Mask The Token Male"; and many others.
@)>~~~>>~~~~SELECTED FANFIC SITES: @)>~~~>>~~~~ 
  http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/eponine/tux/fanfic.html 
  http://log.on.ca/users/helm/anime/index.htm
  http://solo.abac.com/moonromance/ 
Invited by NO ONE, but in your face anyway,
for Love,Justice, Correct Spelling & Grammar,
I am the meticulous Sailor Spell-Check!! /^_^)\
====================<<===============================(@ 
M.I.T.H.'s Official Biographer [Mamoru is Totally Hot!]
Tuxedo Mask, My Only Two-Dimensional Lust
~~~~<<~~~(@                   @)~~~>>~~~~