"You have a distinct… look about you today."

It was the kind of greeting all of the Genshiken members and pretty much anyone acquainted with Ohno had come to dread; the opening of a can of worms, the ultimate I'm about to pry into your life line, if you will.

"Hm?" Saki feigned innocence, after all, what could she do? She should have run while she had the chance, and now she'd been caught smack dab in the middle of the Genshiken room, which no reason for being there, daydreaming, and deep in thought about recent events concerning a certain excessively otaku male, the breed with tremendous glasses and unkempt hair.

"What ails you?" Ohno wraped her arm around Saki's shoulder, sliding closer as Saki failed to fool anyone into believing she was actually reading that new magazine she'd just grabbed as a side note on her way to the Genshiken. Luckily, Ohno and Saki were the only two in the room at this early hour.

"What makes you think something's wrong..?" Saki afforded Ohno a sidelong glance that easily stated I'm not in the mood.

"Well, you haven't really spoken to me in days…. Ever since that night.." Of course, Ohno meant the night she left Saki stranded, a purposeful attempt at putting Saki and Madarame in an embarrassing, potentially compromising situation.

This entire scenario is ridiculous.. She thought to herself. It was something she remembered thinking that morning, waking up with Madarame in her room, and yet somehow feeling completely safe, safer than she would have felt alone in that apartment. It often got cold and lonely there, and somehow it almost felt right when he was around. Or it could be just loneliness in general getting the best of her, making her cling to whatever masculine company she could get… Madarame… masculine..? She laughed inside.

"You mean that night that was completely your fault? That night that you left me there, alone, drunk, vulnerable? That you would have the audacity to bring it up knowing that I'd still be angry with you about that is simply uncanny." Saki stated, dryly.

This was all Ohno's fault. Saki didn't need that night, she didn't need to feel lost and helpless, she didn't need to be worrying over Madarame. She had her own worries; She needed to worry about work, some extra courses she'd planned on picking up to brush up on some computer skills, Kousaka.

And yet here Saki was, sitting in Genshiken at every opportunity all of a sudden, after claiming she'd never return. Was one night with Madarame enough to bring her back? Saki had almost forgotten that she'd left Genshiken for good. And yet, here she was, once again, and lately she'd put some considerable effort into making sure her hairstyle was cuter than normal, her clothes were a little more feminine than usual, and she'd been wearing nothing but short to mid-length skirts for days now. Saki knew that her sexy attire had been noticed, and that it had been written off by everyone else as Saki keeping herself nice, always expecting a visit from Kousaka at any given time. Much to Ohno's dismay, Tanaka had noticed one skirt in particular, and a comment on how nicely it suited Saki had earned him a slap in the head from Ohno earlier that week. But it wasn't Kousaka Saki had dressed up for – she'd been hoping she'd get a chance to cross paths with Madarame, maybe have another casual dinner with him, and now that she knew how nervous she was capable of making him, maybe have some fun teasing him in a friendly way.

Was it really all a game? Saki didn't know, but she'd been so starved of attention from Kousaka lately, she needed something to make her feel great again. And somehow, she always seemed to feel great about herself around Madarame. Was this fair?

Ohno had been rendered speechless, slumping into her chair with a "Humph!" Luckily for Saki, she had bought herself just enough time for her own phone to ring, and she dug at her purse excitedly. Who could it be? Could Kona and Rei want to go shopping soon? A lunch date? Had she won a drawing for a shopping spree at one of her favorite local clothing boutiques? She was getting far too optimistic here.

The caller ID stated Kousaka 3, and Saki was very hesitant to answer. She didn't know how to feel about how she felt at all.

"Good morning!" She mustered a cheerful greeting.

"Good morning, Saki! I haven't heard from you in a few days!" There was a pause, a hesitation; she normally called him daily, nightly, but had neglected to recently. And for what? Worry over Madarame?

"I'm going to be completely free tonight." Kousaka continued, and he seemed to be fishing for a response for Saki. "I thought maybe we could have dinner, you know, something romantic?" There was another pause, "Or whatever you're in the mood for."

Saki smiled, Kousaka was trying. He usually did a little bit of trying when he felt something was wrong, "That sounds great, sweety! Whatever you had in mind is fine, Meet at my place at 7:00? Great!" Saki sounded excited, even appeared excited, at least until she hung up the phone.

Saki flipped her phone closed and peered over at Ohno, who was frowning deeply in her direction.

"That'd better be one hell of a steak!" Ohno huffed, "I can't remember the last time you and Kousaka went out on a date, and to be honest, I wasn't expecting that I'd hear about it ever again…" She looked thoughtful a moment, as though the wheels were once again starting to turn, creating some grand plot for Saki to fall into once again.

"Hey now… Kousaka and I are still together." Saki said it, but somehow it didn't sound believable. Truly, how often were they actually together anymore? What were they? Occasional company? That wasn't enough for Saki, yet somehow it was enough for Kousaka. Something had to give.

"I'm not upset. I'm not trying to upset you or push your buttons… it's just.." Ohno sighed, "I guess I kinda hope for a different prince charming for you. Nothing against Kousaka, as usual. He just doesn't fit the storyline in my opinion.."

"I'm not one of your manga dramas…" Saki almost growled.

"Shojo?" Ohno offered.

"Don't talk about my life like it belongs in a comic drama…" Saki gathered her purse, heading towards the door. She reached for the doorknob, only for it to be snatched from her reach as she leaned out the door, the door opened per another's will, and Madarame and Saki collided perfectly, sending manga and cosmetics flying.

"But Saki, you have to admit, you're the perfect role in one." Ohno giggled madly at the perfect situation, perfect in her opinion, anyhow.