"So," said Wakaba, briskly changing the subject again, "tell
me what happened to Saionji."
	The laugh was stronger this time.  "He got laid."
	"WHAT?!"  Wakaba slid sideways a bit, out of Utena's embrace,
and glowered at her in the dark, hands on hips again.
	Utena rubbed at the back of her neck, grinning wryly, and
said, "Well, it's true.  There's more to it than that, but I wanted to
hear you go 'WHAT?!', so I had to oversimplify it."
	"Explain," said Wakaba sternly, so Utena gave it the old
Worcester Prep try.
	"... so it wasn't -just- that he got laid," she finished, "but
that was part of it."
	"... And now she's seeing Miki," Wakaba mused.  "That's...
ow.  I don't think I can get my head around that part.   Ow."
	"You'll get used to her," said Utena; then she added under her
breath, "(Or you'll have a psychotic episode.)"
	Wakaba chuckled.  "She sounds... interesting.  However she did
it, I'm glad she was able to help him get over being such a bastard."
She laughed again, more of a giggle this time, and added, "If I'd
known that was all it'd take, I'd have jumped him myself when he lived
with me."
	"I'm, uh, not sure that would have been such a good idea, at
the time," Utena said.
	"I know, I'm just making a dumb joke.  If you can't laugh at
your past it'll screw up your future - that's my new philosophy,"
Wakaba declared with a firm nod.
	Utena considered that, then smiled.  "I like that," she said,
and they laughed at their pasts together for a moment.
	When they'd finished that, Wakaba looked momentarily
thoughtful, then said, "So if she dumped him, he's not seeing anybody
right now?"
	"She didn't really 'dump' him, they were never 'together' in
the first place," said Utena.
	"Whatever," said Wakaba.  "Is he or isn't he?"
	"No," said Utena.  "Why?  You're not seriously thinking of
going after him again, are you?"
	"Maybe," replied Wakaba coyly.  "You said yourself he's not a
total creep anymore."
	"Well, yeah, I guess, but...  I dunno, I just can't see it."
	"Well, I can't see you marrying Himemiya, either, so I guess
we're even.  You know I was -kidding- all those times I called you my
boyfriend."
	Utena looked a bit sheepish again.  "I told you it's
complicated."
	"I know, I know," Wakaba said with a laugh.  She turned,
hopped down from the wall, and clapped her old friend on the shoulder.
"I just like yanking your chain, that's all.  Say," she went on as
Utena jumped down and the two of them set off back down Bancroft Hill.
"If you don't think I should go after Saionji, what about that Corwin
guy?  He sounds nice, and if you're taken... "
	"Wakaba," said Utena testily.
	"Kidding," Wakaba repeated.  "Sheesh, lighten up.  I haven't
even -met- the guy yet.  Does he seriously -own- Arisugawa's roommate?"

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor in Chief, Netadmin
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/