FIRE SOUL BIRD IN LOVE
A Sailor Moon Sekkushiaru Roman

by Sailor Mac
PROLOGUE: THE SILVER MILLENIUM
	King Cephus of Mars looked at the face of the only woman he'd ever loved,
the woman who'd given him his first child. The woman who was not his wife.
	Her beautiful face was filled with shock and dismay, for he had just told
her the future he had planned for his second child. The one born to the
woman he'd been forced to marry.
	He swore his daughter would never know the same heartbreak that he did.
	"Cephus, that's insane! You cannot do that to her! What kind of a life is
that for a young girl?"
	"A life without pain and misery!"
	"You're denying her pain and misery - but you're also denying her joy and
happiness!"
	"Happiness? There is no happiness for the heir to the throne of Mars.
That's the way it's been since ancient times. Every heir has had their
marriage arranged at birth, and it's always to the son or daughter of the
parents' political cronies. None of us have ever had a chance to marry who
we truly loved." He drew the woman into his arms. "The only times in my
life I have ever been happy have been the times I was with you. And every
day, when I wake up next to that other woman. . .it drives a knife of ice
in my heart."
	"Cephus. . .you're the king! You can change the law!"
	"I wish it were that easy. On my planet, both the king and queen have to
agree to change a law. . .and you know she's too tradition-bound to change
anything."
	"But isn't there another way out for your daughter?"
	"None. The law states that for a female heir to the throne, the only way
out of an arranged marriage. . .is to be given to the god of our planet as
his bride."
	"Cephus, please. . ."
	"It's too late. The ceremony is being performed in secret by my high
priest as I speak."
	"No! You can't. . ."
	"What's done is done." He embraced the woman again. "I love you. . .never
forget that." And he turned and left, pain tearing at his very soul as it
always did when he left her.
	You will never know this pain, Rei, he thought. And you should consider
this a blessing. . .
* * *
TODAY
	"What's with Raye? Is she in some kind of pain?"
	Serena idly played with her straw wrapper as she posed the question to
Amy, Lita and Mina, who were sharing a booth with her at Crown Cafe. They
all knew Serena had voiced the question that had been at the back of their
minds for days.
	"Something's wrong with her, that's for sure," said Amy. "For awhile, she
seemed really calm, really mellow, and then in the past week or so. . ."
	"She's been like the old Raye, squared," said Lita.
	"Maybe there's something wrong with her grandfather," said Mina.
	"No way!" Serena said. "I passed by the temple the other day and saw the
old guy jogging up the steps like Rocky."
	"And flirting with every pretty girl that passed by to boot," Lita added.
	"You think it may be a boy?" said Mina.
	Amy stirred her soda as she thought for a second, then said, "I don't know
if any of you have noticed this but. . .it seems that for the last few
months, Raye hasn't been interested in boys at all. She never mentions
liking any cute guys at school or the arcade anymore. . ."
	"I thought that was just because she was still hung up on Darien," said Lita.
	"No, she's not," said Serena. "They've become good friends. . .haven't you
noticed how she needles him and calls him 'Tux Boy'? She wouldn't do that
if she. . ."
	Just then, the subject of their conversation burst into the cafe like a
whirlwind. She slid into the booth and said, "Sorry I'm late. . .I've had
things to do. . ."
	"What kind of 'things'?" said Serena in a teasing tone of voice. "Animal,
vegetable, mineral, male. . ."
	A passing busboy who had been eavesdropping on their conversation piped
up: "Hey, I resemble that remark!" Serena stuck her tongue out at him.
	"Just things, okay?" Raye snapped. "Honestly, Serena, you can be such a
child. . ."
	Amy put a hand on Raye's arm. "Raye. . .calm down. We were just talking
about how concerned we were about you. . ."
	"Concerned? Why? I'm perfectly fine!"
	"You seem a bit. . .edgy lately," said Lita. "Is anything wrong?"
	"You can tell us anything," Serena added. "You know we care about you."
	"Is it something to do with a guy?" said Mina. The others glared at her.
	Raye suddenly got to her feet. "Why does everyone assume that as soon as
somebody has a lot on their mind, it has something to do with a guy? Grow
up, people! There's more to life than chasing boys!"
	"Raye. . ." Amy said.
	"I've got things to do at the temple." She stalked out, leaving her
friends looking at each other in shock.
* * *
	Raye hurried down the street, tears burning her eyes.
	They said I could talk to them about anything, she thought, but I can't
talk to them about this. Oh, how I wish I could. . .it's tearing me up
inside. There once was someone I could tell anything to. . .but I
definitely can't tell *him* about this, either.
	Why, why can't things go back to the way they were before? Why did things
have to get so complicated?
	She thought back to when her dilemna began, about two weeks ago. . .
	Raye had been putting out food for the ravens when she heard some sort of
commotion in the temple gardens. She hurried over to take a look. . .and
saw that Chad and some of his buddies had set up a ramp and were performing
skateboarding tricks. Boys will be boys, she thought. . .In spite of
herself, she found herself watching with a combination of amusement and
fascination. Chad looked quite attractive in his tank top and cutoff
shorts. . .she hadn't really noticed before how well-built he was. . .
	Raye suddenly felt her cheeks flush and a flash of guilt and panic. How
could I look at him? she thought. I belong to somebody else. . .I am the
consort of a *god.*
	She started to turn back to what she was doing. . .when she heard Chad
yell, "Hey, watch my 360 Indy Nosehold move!" This was followed by a crash.
	"Chad?" She flew down the temple steps, and saw him lying on the ground,
holding his arm, his face twisted in a grimace of pain. His friends were
kneeling around him, looks of deep concern on their faces. . .
	"Oh, Gods, Chad!" she said. "Hang on, I'll get the ambulance. . ."
	She had ridden to the hospital with him, and sat in the waiting room while
he was examined, trying to tell herself that the reason she felt so panicky
was that she didn't like to think of her friend and co-worker being hurt. .
.
	As it turned out, his arm only had a mild sprain, but he was told to keep
it in a sling for awhile. Raye called home to let her grandfather know that
everything was all right, then they headed back to the temple together in a
cab.
	By the time they arrived, Raye's grandfather had gone to bed. They had the
whole place to themselves. . .
	"Does it hurt?" Raye asked him.
	"A little," Chad replied, but the look on his face told her it hurt more
than a little.
	"Why don't I make you some of my herbal tea? Grandpa says it's better than
Tylenol for aches and pains."
	"Cool," he said. As they entered the kitchen and he seated himself at the
table, he said, "Ah, man, I can't believe I was so stupid, trying that 360
move. . ."
	"You're right," she said as she filled the kettle. "It was stupid." She
put it on the stove. "But at least you weren't hurt any worse than you are,
and that's what matters."
	"I don't know why I did it. . ." Then, after a pause, "Yes, I do. I knew
you were watching. . ."
	Raye had been measuring out different kinds of tea leaves, and when Chad
said that, she almost dropped the cup and spoon. "You. . .knew I was. . ."
	"I thought maybe. . .I'd try to impress you. But you're right. . .it was dumb."
	She felt her stomach turn over. "Chad. . .you don't have to do any stupid
tricks to get my attention." Oh, no, she thought, why did I say that?
	"Really?"
	"I've always considered you to be my friend," she said quickly. "And
friends don't have to try to get each other's attention." She decided a
fast subject change was in order. . . "Have you been skateboarding long?"
	"I took it up a few years ago. Gives me a way to keep in shape between ski
seasons."
	"You're lucky to have grown up in a family that owns its own ski lodge. . ."
	"Yeah, that's cool. . .but in a way, being from a rich family really
sucks. You don't know if people really like you for you. . .or for your
money."
	"Is that why you came to the temple, and you. . ."
	"Act like a slacker? I know what you were going to say, Rei. You're a
no-bullcrap kind of woman. And I like that."
	She felt heat rising in her cheeks. Oh, Gods, she thought, am I blushing?
I never blush!
	"Well," she said, "I always believed that telling the truth was better
than giving people phony-baloney B.S."
	"Unlike most of the people I knew growing up. Rich people are the most
phony-baloney on the planet."
	The water boiled, and she poured his tea. "Tell me more about when you
were growing up."
	"Well, my parents made me go to this prep school. It was out in the woods,
which was cool, but it was like military school. . ."
	They had sat up for the better part of the night, talking. Chad told her
stories about his highborn childhood, and he told her the real reason he
came to the temple was that he was looking for spirituality to give some
meaning to what had been a materialistic life. She confided in him about
her absent father, about how she considered her grandather to be her "true
parent." She even stopped just short of telling him that she was Sailor
Mars.
	By the time they finally retired for the evening, she had a mixture of
feelings churning inside her. She knew she was seeing Chad with new eyes.
She was starting to think about him as more than a friend. . .
	But how could she, when she loved Mars. . .when it was her destiny to be
the consort of a god?
	Raye got precious little sleep that night. In fact, she hadn't slept
through the night since.
	And now, those feelings were continuing to churn, and churn, and churn,
until she thought she was going to explode. . .especially when she recalled
the last words that Chad had said to her that night:
	"Raye. . .I'm glad we had this time together. I always hoped we would get
to know each other better. . .and it was much more than worth the wait."
	Raye shook her head, trying to push the thought away, and doubled her
speed. She wanted to get her chores done when she knew Chad wouldn't be
there. . .so she wouldn't have to face him.
* * *
	Meanwhile, in the Negaverse, someone else had churning emotions.
	Hematite felt like he had tried everything to capture the Sailor Scouts.
Absolutely everything. He had locked himself in his chambers, combing and
recombing all the records of previous generals he had read hundreds of
times before, looking for the tiniest clue.
	If only, he thought, Sailor Moon hadn't healed the Seven Shadow Warriors.
Now *those* were formidable weapons. Get all seven of them together in one
place - which Beryl had been unable to do - and they could take those
Scouts easily.
	Hmm, he thought. What if I could recapture them. . .and infuse them with
enough Dark Energy that they would take on their Shadow Warrior forms
again. . .
	I'll just have one captured for now, to experiment on. And if the
experiment is a success. . .
	He grabbed the reports on the human forms of the Shadow Warriors and
searched for a likely test candidate. Aha, he thought, here's one. Someone
who's bound to put up very little fight and little resistance. A little old
man. . .
* * *
	Darien headed for the temple as soon as he got out of his last class.
Serena had called him at the college near tears. She was so, so worried
about Raye. . .
	And if she won't tell any of the girls what's wrong, he thought, there's
only one thing it could be. It's got to have something to do with *him.*
	He entered the main area of the temple, and found Chad cleaning out an
incense burner with his one good hand, the other still in the sling. "Hey,
dude," Chad said, holding up his hand for a high-five. "How's it hangin'?"
	"Hi, Chad," Darien said, slapping Chad's outstretched palm. "What happened
to you?"
	"Just a little wipeout on my skateboard. I'll live."
	"Is Raye around?"
	"She's in her room." A dark shadow seemed to pass over Chad's normally
mellow face. "She's in her room all the time now. She doesn't even come out
to read the fire anymore. . ."
	Just what I suspected, Darien thought. If she doesn't want to read the
fire. . .if she doesn't want to look into the next world. . .then it
*definitely* has something to do with. . .
	"I'm going to see if she's willing to talk," Darien said. "The girls are
worried sick about her."
	"You wanna know something? So am I."
	Darien went down the hall, to where he knew Raye's room was. It was
deathly quiet in there. . .except for a very soft sound. . .like sobbing.
	He knocked on the door. "Raye?"
	"Go away!"
	"Raye, please talk to me. The girls are frantic over what's been happening
to you. . .and so am I."
	"It's none of anybody's business!"
	"I know what you're upset over, Raye. It's got something to do with *him,*
doesn't it?"
	There was a pause, and then he heard the sound of footsteps. The door
opened just wide enough for Raye to peek out. "Please, Darien. . .I can
handle this."
	"No, you can't. Why don't you come out into the garden with me, and we'll
talk about it."
	She didn't agree to go outside, but she did open the door wider and step
away from it, an invitation for him to enter. She sat down cross-legged on
the floor, and he sat opposite her.
	"Okay," she said, "you wanted to talk. So. . .talk."
	"I think you should be the one doing the talking. Raye, why didn't you
tell Serena about your relationship with Mars? She *is* your best friend,
you know."
	She shook her head. "I couldn't tell any of them. . .they'd never
understand. How could they? All of them have had somebody they've been
destined to be with since the begining of time. . .all I had was. . .was
*him.* And now. . ." She started to cry again. He reached over and hugged
her, letting her cry on his shoulder.
	"Did he reject you?"
	"No! No, that's not it at all! I almost wish he did! Then I wouldn't have
to worry about. . .about. . ."
	Darien started to fit the pieces of the puzzle together in his head. Raye
wishing that Mars would reject her. . .Chad overly concerned about her. .
.and his psychic senses were picking up a certain kind of vibe. . .a vibe
he normally felt around Serena, or around one of the other girls when she
was with her lover. . .
	"Raye," he said softly, "do you have feelings for Chad?"
	"I don't know!" she sobbed.
	"I think you do know. . .and you don't want to admit it to yourself. It's
all right, Raye. . ."
	"It is NOT all right! What am I going to do? You can't just break up with
a god! This is part of my. . .my destiny."
	"I think you should talk to him."
	"Talk to Chad? What am I going to say to him? 'You're a nice guy, but I'm
spoken for by a deity'?"
	"No, not to Chad. . .to *him.* To Mars."
	"He'll destroy me."
	"You don't know that. It could be that he loves you, but he feels as
trapped in this destiny as you do. . .Tell you what. I'll put you in a deep
trance, and I'll be beside you the whole time. If I sense things are
getting out of hand, I'll send help."
	"Help? From who?"
	"I'll tell you when you're feeling better. . .let's just say I also have a
friend in the World Beyond. Now, you get comfortable on the floor, and I'll
go get what we need for the ritual. . ."
* * *
	Raye's grandfather was jogging up the steps again. He didn't give a damn
what those doctors said - he still felt young and fit as a fiddle! And he
was going to stay young as long as he could. . .
	Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a pretty young thing pass by. "Hi
there," he called. "How'd you like to come work at my temple as a shrine
maiden?"
	"Get lost, old geezer!" she shouted, then continued on her way.
	"Old geezer?" he mumbled to himself. "Ha! I'll show *her* who's an old
geezer! Why, I'll jog up and down these steps a hundred times!" And he
began to run twice as hard and twice as fast.
	He was so intent on what he was doing that he didn't notice the shadowy
creatures hiding in the bushes. . .
* * *
	Raye was lying in the middle of a circle of salt, with candles at each of
the compass points. Darien was beside her, holding her hand, talking her
down into the trance state. . .
	And then, suddenly, the room faded away, and she was walking between two
walls of fire. There was a figure in the distance, a figure she recognized
on sight, the one person in the world she was usually most glad to see. .
.but not today.
	When she drew near to him, instead of opening her arms like she usually
did, she flung herself down on her knees. "Oh, my lord," she cried, "I beg
your forgiveness!"
	"Forgiveness? For what? This is not like you, Raye."
	"For. . .for. . ." She couldn't even get the words out.
	"Have you come to me about the young man named Chad?"
	"Yes! Oh, my Lord, I've started to feel things for him. . .things I should
only feel for you!"
	"Raye. . ." He drew her to her feet. "First of all, stop kneeling. I don't
like that. You're my champion and priestess, not my slave." She noticed he
didn't add, as he usually did, the word "lover."
	He made a motion with his hand, and a bench appeared. He guided her to sit
down on it, and sat beside her. "I'm glad you came to me, Raye. . .because
there are things we need to discuss."
	"Like. . .my destiny?"
	"Yes. You do indeed have a most crucial destiny ahead of you. . .you will
affect the very course of the world. And I will play a part in that
destiny."
	Raye thought of what he'd told her before of her future. . .the Scouts
would live long, long lives, perhaps even be immortal, and would inhabit a
utopian place called Crystal Tokyo. . .where gods and humans would dwell
side by side.
 	"But Raye. . .that destiny is still a long, long time off. And you have a
lot of life to live in between times. You have found a mortal you will be
good for and who will be good for you. It's right that the two of you
should be together, and I won't stand in your way."
	"You. . .you won't? Then Chad and I are. . .an Eternal Couple? We've been
together since. . ."
	"No, Raye. In fact, this is his first incarnation. He's a new soul. He's
still trying to find his way in the universe. He needs someone to guide
him, encourage him and love him. And you could do all that for him. His
destiny beyond this lifetime lies on a different path from yours. . .but
while he is in this flesh, you and he are an ideal couple."
	"Just for this lifetime. . ." She wondered, do I want to do this? Do I
want to get involved in a relationship that's just for the next 40 or 50
years at best? What if I stay young while he sickens and dies - could I
handle that? Especially knowing we wouldn't be together in the next life?
	Then she thought more about what Mars said - that he was a new soul, and
that she was the one who could help him find his way in the universe, help
him achieve bigger and better things in the next life. This is part of my
destiny too, she thought. . .
	"There's just one thing I want to know before I return and. . .and go to
Chad." She smiled. . .now that she had said the words out loud, now that
she knew she could do what her heart truly wanted to do, it was like a 500
pound weight had been taken off her back. "How did you and I end up
together in the first place? I know how it happened in this lifetime, but.
. .before. . ."
	Mars paused, as if pondering how much to tell her. . .then, he began to
speakagain, choosing his words carefully. . .
	"You were the heiress to the throne of Mars. On that planet, the eldest
child, whether male or female, always inherited the throne. But that person
also was required to enter an arranged marriage with someone chosen by
their parents at their birth - usually the child of a political ally. Your
father was married to the younger sister of a very mighty monarch. But he
didn't love her. There was someone else he had fallen in love with, a woman
who gave him his first child. When he had to leave her and marry the woman
who became your mother, it tore his heart out. He was determined that you
would never suffer the same pain. . .so he invoked the one way out for a
princess in the planet's laws. The princess would not have to have an
arranged marriage if she were given to the god of the planet as his bride.
Your mother and your stepmother -your father's lover - were both shocked
and horrified. They thought that you would never know love, never know the
touch of a man. But when you came of age. . .I began to visit you, in a
human form. And I continued to do so until the end of the Silver
Millenium."
	"And in this life. . ."
	"In this life. . .at first, I wasn't going to get involved with you,
except in the background. I had decided to let you live as a normal mortal.
But then, you became Sailor Mars again, and I had to give you my
protection. . .and then came the day when you called upon me to show
myself. Do you remember? You were heartbroken over a broken relationship, a
relationship that could never be in the first place, because. . ." He
stopped abruptly, as if he were about to say something he shouldn't. "I
appeared, and we began our relationship again."
	"I don't regret it."
	"Neither do I. And now. . .I feel you must return to your world. You will
be needed there very soon, I fear."
	"I guess this means I won't be hearing your voice in my head again when I
need help. . ."
	"Don't think that for a minute. You will always be my champion and
priestess, the Warrior of Fire and Soul. And I will always guide and help
you. . .just as you will guide and help your new love." He embraced her,
and said, "Now, go. . .and be happy."
	She returned his embrace, then started to walk away, and the scene was
fading away, and she felt herself back in her physical body again. . .
* * *
	Raye shook her head. What was that she was feeling? Her psychic senses
were definitely starting to pick something up. . .
	"Raye?" Darien said.
	She put a hand on his arm. "Danger. . .do you sense it?"
	"Yes. . .yes, I do."
	"It feels like it's near. . .very near. . ."
	And then, she heard the commotion at the front of the temple, and a man
screaming. . .
	"GRANDPA!" she shouted, bolting out of her room. She prayed that her fears
wouldn't be true, but when she reached the porch, she saw that they were -
her grandfather was being attacked by two bizarre humanoid-bird hybrids. He
was trying to fend them off with karate moves, but they were quickly
overpowering him. . .
	"Hang on, Grandpa!" she shouted. "Help is on the way. . ." Ducking back
into the temple, she pulled her wand out of the pocket of her robe and
called, "MARS POWER!"
	But as she went into her transformation, she did not realize that she was
being watched. Chad stood agape in the shadows, not believing what his eyes
told him, even as his brain was starting to put together puzzle pieces - so
*this* explained why she ran away from the temple all the time without
explanation, why she sometimes snuck away at night after everyone else went
to bed. . .and it also could have something to do with her recent behavior.
. .
	"Sailor Mars," he whispered in awe and wonder.
	Her transformation complete, Raye lept out onto the temple steps and
shouted, "GET AWAY FROM HIM *NOW!*"
	One of the bird-things turned to her without letting go of her
grandfather. "And just who might you be?"
	"I'm Sailor Mars, and I'm your worst nightmare! Now put him down, or I'll
punish you!"
	"Do your worst, girlie," the other creature sneered.
	I'm going to have to aim carefully, she thought. One inch off and Grandpa will be burned to a crisp. . .maybe if I just singe their feathers, they'll get the idea. . .
	"MARS FIRE. . .IGNITE!" The blast flew toward the creatures, but when it
hit them, they didn't even flinch. Their feathers were singed, all right. .
.but the burns disappeared within a second.
	"Amateur hour," the first creature said. "Not like THIS. . ."
	And both bird-men raised their wings and shot feathers tipped with sharp,
stinging quills at her. They lodged themselves in her skin, sending jolts
of pain throughout her body. She tumbled to the ground. They aimed to fire
again. . .
	And then a rose landed in front of the creatures, momentarily parilyzing
them. A voice shouted, "Only a coward would attack a harmless elderly man!
You want a fight, I'll give you a fight!"
	Raye looked up and saw Tuxedo Mask on the temple roof. There was a flash
of gold as he drew his weapon. . .
	"EARTH BLADE. . ."
	"NO! STOP! THIS IS MY FIGHT!"
	"Sailor Mars, your attack doesn't. . ."
	She got to her feet, slowly. She knew what to do. *He* was telling her
what to do. These creatures were prepared for her standard attack. . .but
if she hit them with something new. . .
	Mars, my lord, she thought, you will never fail me, and I will never fail you.
	She brought up her hands, and shouted, "MARS FIREBIRD STRIKE!" The beast
of fire arced away from her and toward the bird-things. They realized what
was happening, dropped her grandfather, and tried to get away. . .but they
were doomed. As soon as the flames hit them, they were incinerated.
	Raye took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. It's over, she
thought. I did it. . .
	Darien leapt off the roof and landed beside her. "Great job, fireball," he
said.
	"Thanks for your help, Tux Boy. For *everything.*"
	"I think I'd better go," he said. "You probably have things to take care
of now. . ."
	She hugged him, and he left.
	Raye heard her grandfather stir and moan. Quickly detransforming, she ran
to his side.
	"Grandpa! Grandpa! Are you all right?"
	He sat up slowly. "What happened? I feel like I got hit by a truck. . ."
	"No truck. Just a small. . .accident."
	"Accident?" He got to his feet. "I'm sore all over. . .I think I'm going
to go lie down for awhile." Raye supported him as he walked back into the
temple.
	After she had put him to bed, she started to head back into the main room
- when she heard Chad call her name.
	"Chad. . .hi. I didn't realize you were. . ."
	"Raye. . .I saw you. I know that you're Sailor Mars."
	Her heart dropped into her feet. "You. . .you *saw* me?"
	"Yes. I always knew you were a special woman. . .and now I know just *how*
special."
	"Chad. . .please don't tell Grandpa. If he knew, he'd literally worry
himself to death."
	"I won't tell another living soul." He let out a big sigh. "Well, I was
hoping that maybe, someday, you'd see me as more than just a buddy. . .but
I guess Sailor Scouts have their pick of any flashy guy they want, like
that Tuxedo Mask dude. . ."
	She smiled to herself. There was a time when Tuxedo Mask was the only
thing she wanted in the world. . .but not anymore.
	She moved closer to Chad. "I don't have my pick of any guy in the world.
Not really. And even if I did. . .I would pick you."
	He stood rooted to the spot, not knowing what to do at first. And then her
arms were around him, and she was drawing his head toward hers. Their lips
came together, and suddenly, he *definitely* knew what he wanted to do. . .
	As their mouths opened, she let out a small groan of passion, her tongue
hungrily stroking his. Her hands roamed up and down his toned and muscular
athlete's body, and her body shivered with desire as she felt the dampness
rising between her thighs.
	Strange, she thought. . .all the sex I had with Mars, and right now, I
feel. . .like a virgin. I've never been intimate with a mortal man before.
. .
	Their lips broke apart, and she rested her head on his shoulder as their
hands roamed each other's bodies.
	"We don't have to go any further. . ." he said.
	She raised her head and looked him in the eye. "We don't *have* to. But I *want* to."
	Their mouths came together again, explosively, and then he lifted her in
his arms as if she were light as a feather and carried her to his room.
	Gently, he deposited her on the bed, busily working on her temple robes,
trying to get all the sashes and knots undone, his hands tripping over each
other in their eagerness. She pulled away from him just long enough to do
the job herself. The garments fell to the floor, and as his lips claimed
hers again, his hands came up to her breasts, beginning to rub and squeeze
them through the fabric of her bra. She let out a loud gasp, feeling her
nipples harden and rise, as if trying to tear their way through the cloth
to meet his skin.
	Feeling passion rise and rise within her like lava in a volcano, she
flipped him over on his back, her mouth caressing his again and again. Her
hands roamed his body over and over as she stripped away his clothes, piece
by piece. Pulling away just long enough to rid herself of what she was
still wearing, she lay atop him, her lips moving down his neck, down over
his chest. . .she ran her tongue around his right nipple, then drew it into
her mouth and sucked, drawing a groan of surprise and delight from him.
Slowly, softly, she moved over to the other side and repeated her action,
making him groan and squirm.
	Down she moved, and still down, and then she saw it. For a second, she
froze, all her customary boldness draining out of her body. Seeing his
erection right in front of her made it so. . .so. . .*official *. . .she
was going to embark on a full-fledged romance with Chad. Did she want to do
this?
	She most definitely did. She took him in both her hands, gently caressing,
sliding her fingers up and down his length, delighting in how he groaned
and shuddered. . .She leaned over and took him into her lips, caressing him
with her tongue before starting to move him in and out, in and out. . .He
cried her name out, his whole body writhing in ecstasy.
	She could have taken him all the way like that - she was definitely
willing to - but he had other ideas. He gently pushed up on her shoulders
to make her back off, then flipped her over on her back, kissing her lips
hard, gently nibbling on the lower one.
	His fingers were flicking back and forth over her nipples, and her
breathing was starting to become rapid. Then, he bent his head, taking one
in his mouth while continuing to caress the other. As he started to suck,
she felt hot pulses of electricity flying through her body, shooting down
to the hot center of her being, which was starting to feel like it was
ablaze. She moaned his name over and over, tangling her hands in his hair.
. .
	And then his mouth left hers, and she let out a cry of disappointment. But
he was moving downward again, over her stomach, down, down, down. . .
	His tongue pushed its way between her folds, into her sweet center, and
she arched and cried out loudly. His hands reached up, continuing to caress
her nipples as his tongue flicked and swirled and probed, searching for
every sensitive space, making her gasp when he darted here, making her moan
when he twirled away there. . .And then, he found the nub of flesh that
most craved his touch, and he began to lick it with long, firm strokes. She
almost screamed. Over and over he licked, and then he took it in his lips
and started to suck. . .
	And that's when she felt the freight train running through her body, her
soul, and she shouted his name at the peak of her orgasm, just before
collapsing back on the bed.
	He came back up to her and kissed her gently, stroking and holding her as
her spasms faded. She reached up to caress his face.
	"Raye," he said, "before we go any further. . .before we do anything else,
I want you to know. . .I love you. I've loved you ever since I first laid
eyes on you."
	"I love you, too."
	"You do?"
	"Yes." And she knew she meant it.
	The expression on his face was one of the most beautiful she had ever seen
- it was just pure, unadulterated joy on a level she thought she had never
seen before. He leaned over and brought his lipsto hers again, and this
time, the kiss was as sweet and tender as it was hot. They shared one long,
lingering kiss, then several little, feathery ones.
	"Come to me, my love," she whispered.
	He broke away just long enough to go into his dresser drawer and get out
the package of condoms he'd bought in hopes that this day would come. He
quickly prepared himself, then lay back atop her, kissing her breasts, then
her lips.
	The first thrust took her breath away with the intensity of pleasure. She
felt her hips rising to meet him, trying to pull him as deep into her as
she possibly could. Soon, very soon, they found their rhythm, connecting,
pulling apart, connecting again. . .She was amazed at how fast she was
climaxing again, the hot spasms shaking her quickly, firey darts of
pleasure racing through her bloodstream.
	She went limp for a second, just gasping and trembling. . .and then she
rolled him over on his back and straddled him, driving her hips fast and
hard, determined to bring both of them to climax together.  He reached his
hands up to her breasts, and she covered his hands with her own, guiding
him, letting him know just how she wanted to be squeezed and caressed. .
.Her moans grew longer, louder, more intense, and the flames within her
were climbing higher and higher. . .Suddenly, the explosion came, and the
throbbing and tugging of her sheath pulled him over the edge with her.
	She fell to his side, and they clung to each other, continuing to kiss
each other's faces lightly.
	"I really meant it when I said I loved you, Raye," he said. "It wasn't
just sex."
	"And I really meant it when I said I loved you too."
	They curled up in each other's arms and fell asleep. . .and somewhere, a
certain god was giving his blessing.
* * *
	Usually, when his youma got dusted, Hematite flew into one of his rages.
Not this time.
	Before it had been killed, one of his creatures had managed to send back a
most interesting piece of information. It seemed that in her everyday life,
the one named Sailor Mars was a shrine maiden. And she talked to the gods
quite a bit. In fact, she seemed to have a special relationship with one
god in particular.
	Divine contact, he thought. That's their secret, the secret I've been
looking for all along. And this Sailor Mars is the key. Remove her, and
I've removed all their strength. . .
	Hematite went into his study, to formulate a plan. . .
	* * *
	Chad arrived back at the temple in high spirits. The doctor had told him
that he no longer had to wear his sling.
	But he was still going to wear it - at least for this one special occasion. . .
	Raye found him sitting in the TV room, the sling on his arm and an
exagerated expression of pain on his face.
	"Raye," he said, "my arm really, really hurts. Think you can give it a
massage?"
	She studied him for a few seconds - and caught on instantly.
	"Sure," she said. "Be right back."
	She returned with a bottle of baby oil - which she tossed in the air high
enough so she knew he would have to catch it with both hands. Sure enough,
he did, the sling falling to the floor. . .
	"HA!" she said. "Faker!"
	He looked at her with a sheepish and guilty expression. . .
	"But you'll still get the massage anyway. In private."
	He opened his arms to her, and she entered them, their lips coming
together in a sweet kiss.
	I'm truly happy now, she thought. I know I have a destiny with a god in
the future. . .but for now. . .let me just be here with this wonderful man.
	"I love you, Chad," she said.
	"I love you too, Raye."
	And hand-in-hand, they headed for his room.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Thanks to Jeffrey Wizard (my skateboarding consultant for
this story), Mark Berger and Sailor Star Love for pre-reading and giving me
input - and for your friendship. Thanks also to Sally, Molly, Mishii
Kawaii, Lunar Rose, Luna and Artemis, Sailor November, Jennifer Wand and
everyone who's supported my work.

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