Thus, early the next morning, she got dressed and went to the garden, rather than staying inside.

The grounds were really beautiful, at any time of the year... Susanne found a sheltered place, a stone on one of the ponds. Willow branches brushed the water, and the smell of jasmine drifted to her. Perfect.

She sat cross-legged on the stone and concentrated. Who were those people yesterday? Pulling books... a bookcase... a kitchen sink?... literally out of nowhere... swordfights on the campus... that hair! And... what the hell was going on?!?!?!?

She tried to clear her head. It was getting muddled. Too many thoughts... Okay, there had to be some kind of connection here... why was she involved in this?

Maybe if she thought back to yesterday... the image of Andy's face came to mind, and she pushed it aside.

"As totally fine as he was, now is no time to think of guys."

She cleared her mind again and once more concentrated on the situation. Once again, she saw Andy's handsome features. Again and again she tried, and the result was the same.

"Dammit!" she cried. "Why is it this guys that I always think of?"

"Maybe he is the reason you are involved, Hotohori no Miko."

"What the hell..." She opened her eyes to see the blonde girl from the day before standing on a low bridge across the pond.

"And that's another thing. We really have to work on your language."

"I'll use whatever language I damn well please," Susanne shot back, standing up. "Who are you, anyway?"

"My name is Meredith, but I am known as Rapath," she answered.

"Rapath? How is that related to Meredith?"

"It's not. Don't ask. I don't feel like explaining my name. There are far too many other things you must know."

"Such as?"

"Such as where you fall into this whole thing, where Andy comes in, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera."

"Then talk. I'm listening."

Almost before Susanne could blink, Meredith had leaped from the footbridge to the near shore and was now only a few meters away.

"Christ! What are you??"

"Rule one. I talk, you listen. Then you can ask questions."

Susanne glowered, but remained silent.

"Good. Now, we begin. The girl yesterday was, indeed, a complete nutcase. Celeste is a few bricks short of a full load, if you catch my drift. And she doesn't play by many rules. Avoid her if you can."

"And how do I do that? It looked like she was after me."

"She is. She's after everyone. We're fighting for our bishounen."

"Come again?"

"Pretty boys."

"I suppose that's where Andy fits into this."

"Right. Him, and several others. The blue-haired guy who saved Celeste today is also one. And there are others."

"Okay, but we're fighting for them? Would this make you my enemy?"

"As far as I can tell, there are more than enough bishounen for all of us. And I'm not obsessed with or destined for any one bishounen. You, however, are another case."

"I'm thrilled, really."

"Do you remember when you first saw Celeste?"

Susanne thought back... it had all happened so fast... it felt like she had suddenly gotten cramps -- ridiculous, of course, it was the wrong week -- and then she had looked up... the other girl had felt the same thing... but as soon as they saw each other, she had felt fine... until the other girl pulled out the sword, of course... "Why did she attack me like that? And what does 'Hotohori no Otaku' mean?"

"Hotohori is the bishounen you must find. He's pretty good... long brown hair, deep, chocolate voice..." Meredith sighed wistfully. "That's why, when Celeste saw you, your body reacted as it did. You know you're Hotohori no Otaku already. But you don't know what to do about it. Your aura, visible only to other otakus, and then only if you lose concentration enough to let them see it, is chocolate-coloured. Anyway, Hotohori... I would say that he is in another world, but someone messed up this whole story here and decided that there was no separate world... basically, Andy is Hotohori, though he doesn't know it. He's been told that he is, but he refuses to believe it. It would have worked out fine the other way, but now..." she sighed.

"What? What?"

"There is one in particular whom you must fight. She is also an otaku of Hotohori-sama."

"WHAT??"

"In the meantime, of course, you'll have to watch out for a few others, including Celeste."

"Oh, great. This oughtta be just fab. HelLO! I've got stuff to do! Fight? As if! I've got classes to study for! My folks'll kill me if my grades drop!"

"Work it into your schedule."

"Well, I think I've got a free hour in May between a couple of tests, and then you'll all have to wait til June."

"Have you heard nothing of what I've said? You're fighting for an incredibly fine guy! Now, bishounen don't just get to be bishounen by their looks. Bishounen must be sensitive enough to cry, they must defend the one they love... and they SPARKLE!" She giggled excitedly, and, because this was an anime-based plot, Susanne sweatdropped.

"Wait, what the hell was that?"

"What?"

"The narrator said I sweatdropped... what's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, that just means... it means... it means you sweatdropped! I acted silly, so that was your response."

"That makes no sense!"

"Get used to it."

"What???"

"Oh, and one more thing I'm supposed to say before I go." She cleared her throat. "Hotohori no Otaku. Make your actions responsible ones."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"God, you could've saved your breath. Do you know how many times my mother has told me that? Hey!" She shouted, for Meredith had begun to walk away. "You said I could ask questions!"

"I didn't say how many questions."

"How will I fight the other ones?"

Meredith paused. "You'll find out," she said, and disappeared.