Title: Insatiable Memories

Author: Sifirela

Genre: Drama/Romance

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I own nothing. I own Noriko, Yvette, Isadora, and the plot, but that is all.

Author's Note: All right guys, we're finally getting into the plot! I'm debating on revising the earlier chapters to meet up with this chapter since most of it to me does not make sense and lost its edge long ago. So if any of you are still reading this, suggestions would work miracles and reviews may just get you another chapter sooner! Enjoy!

Full Summary: Seiji had it all. He was a well-respected Sensei at the Date Dojo, had a dashing fiancée', and had a satisfied grandfather under his belt. He was happy, on the outside that is. On the inside he was torn-torn between wanting something of his own and torn between a feuding battle with his heart. And it all started with a damnable, alluring and tantalizing kiss.

Chapter Twelve

Monday morning dawned early and bright, Nasuti stretched her arms over her head as she woke up. Today she would be going to Shinsha University where she would talk with the Dean about a job that he had called her for after finding out that she was back in town. Normally she would have been extremely excited about the prospect to work under him again, but her mind was still on what happened this weekend, even though she didn't want to think about it. It pained her but she knew she should keep moving. Her life's work was more important than a stupid romanticism dalliance that had planted itself in her head, causing her to lose her mind.

Yes, she was hurt, but she couldn't continue hurting because of such an arrogant move.

Was it arrogant though? She could really understand from a logical point of view deep down inside, but the shallow part that had rested on her soul seemed to think otherwise.

"Not like I had anything going with him before anyway," She said, throwing the covers back on the bed once she got up. "You'd think we would have had something years ago if that were the case."

But you liked him before. Her conscious said dourly. You were in love with him and you wanted to be with him. Nasuti stopped short and frowned at where her conscious was taking her. Deep down you knew that he may have liked you too because he talked with you on so many subjects. The only thing that lacked was the fact his family would have been against it because you weren't from a high pedigree family. He had a duty to his family he could not push away. He had a duty to protect you when it was needed, but after that, there is no reason for him to be bound to you in any other way than friend.

And while her family came from a very prominent academic background, she knew it wasn't enough to be noticed by the Head of the Date Family.

Grandfather Eijiro had his best intentions for his family, Nasuti knew this, but it didn't mean it hurt less when he treated her like some sort of plague that could consume his only grandson and heir to the family name.

She remembered when Seiji wasn't so uptight around her before his grandfather had subtly banned her from the house.

Nasuti sighed, and tucked some hair behind her ear as she made her way to the shower. She had so much to think about and she had to think about this.

She knew that she wouldn't be able to continue this dalliance and would be late.

Nasuti shook her head to clear it of any remnants of what had happened between Seiji and her. She would have to get over it if she would ever get a peaceful mind again.

She would wish Seiji the best and that was all she would do.

The traffic was anything but pleasant.

Seiji tapped his forefinger on the steering wheel as traffic moved at a snail's pace. Normally he would welcomed the distraction and use this time to meditate on certain events that bothered him throughout the week. By the time he would arrive at his destination, his mind would be cleared and he would be ready to work or face his grandfather. This time, however, he struggled with his patience. It seemed like it was coming out the roof as he gritted his teeth. He honked his horn; something he never thought possible. It sounded like a dying squirrel as he honked it again.

If the situation was lighter, he would have thought his horn was worthy of a chuckle, but since his bad mood was starting to get worse, it only added to the effect of his anger.

After an agonizing ten minutes, whatever had stopped the progress of the traffic began to clear and traffic began again. Seiji sighed in relief as he began to go forward. He felt slightly ashamed of his behavior and let out a calming breath. He needed to get a hold of his feelings before he went over the edge.

Since that time at the resort, he had felt nothing but agitation and unsettlement in his spirit. No matter how many hours of meditation, he seemed to become more and more dispirited as the day went by. Maybe he should try to contact Nasuti and meet up with her somewhere so that he could speak with her about what happened between the two of them. He shook his head. There was no way she would agree to it; not the way she ran out before he could discuss it the next day.

He turned on another, smaller side street and parked in front of a café. He had promised he would meet with his youngest sibling and just hang out like they used to before both of their lives became unbearably busy.

Satsuki was sitting on the far right, away from many prying eyes. He was grateful that she knew him so well. He sat across from her with a small smile on his face. He ordered a light meal and shook his head at Satsuki's glare.

"What?"

"You know, 'what.'" Satsuki placed her hands on the table and continued, "So what's the story behind your little outburst there? I thought you were beyond childish tendencies."

Seiji rolled his eyes and shook his head, "I'm going to beat Shin upside his head. It's really no concern of yours what I do."

"It does when it involves you. I know you Seiji, and I know you're suffering over all of this going on." Satsuki sighed, "You know that you have the opportunity to say no to Grandfather. He may not like it, but he can stuff it up his butt regardless."

Seiji smiled a little, "You're lucky you weren't raised—"

"Don't start that shit with me, Seiji. I was raised the same way but I bowed out gracefully because I knew it would be too much pressure." Satsuki paused when their food was delivered. Then she continued with her rant, "I hate pressure but most of all I hate the pressure that was built in you. You think because you were raised in giri that you should always focus on that; but in hindsight you're just so miserable you don't know what to do with yourself. You can't even focus on meditation like you used to, now can you?" At his surprised face, she nodded in acknowledgement, "See what I mean."

He closed his eyes and shook his head, "You can't begin to understand."

"Oh? I can't? Seiji, as your sibling having to grow up in the same house as you, I believe I can. Don't tell me I can't understand Seiji, you should know better than anyone else that I know what you go through. I thank Kami every day that I don't have to be in your shoes. But you know, we all have choices, and we all have to make them. But if we don't like the choice we've made, we always have the power to choose something else." Satsuki said, "I want you to have a happy life, Seiji, not overbearing by our grandfather. I know Grandfather means well, he's always had our best interest at heart, and it doesn't mean I don't love him any less or any more, but you must realize that you have a choice!"

Seiji sighed through his nose and stared at his food that he continued to mull over her speech. It was truer than he wanted to acknowledge. He did have a choice, but he made that commitment and he must stick through it.

"You're lucky to have such a passion for choice, Suki." Seiji smiled, "In fact, I admire you so much, but I just can't in the middle of a choice I've made change it."

"You and Grandfather are so much alike." Satsuki said with a grumble.

Seiji chuckled, "Yes, I agree. Maybe that's why we don't argue that much. We know each other very well and we know what duty is."

Satsuki snorted derisively, "That's what you think. I think you're more free-spirited than you let on. You may think you weren't followed on those days you snuck out the house but I still remember when you went race."

At Seiji's face paling, Satsuki smirked, "Wow, niichan, you seriously didn't know I knew? I hinted a great deal to you."

"You little whelp, you knew but didn't tell me?" Seiji asked, masking his horror with a calm disposition.

Satsuki looked amused. "Yes, I did, and I didn't want you to ban me from seeing you. I felt free just going alone to see you race." She cocked her head to the side with a grin, "You seriously were the idol of many women's fantasies back then too. A lot of blonde bimbos though."

Seiji blushed, red splotches on his cheek. Satsuki giggled, and smiled, "Seiji, don't you ever miss the track? Have you forgotten what it's like to be behind that wheel and not have to worry about what others told you what to say, believe, or do?"

Seiji looked troubled as she asked this question. In truth, he was tired of it all. He remembered being angry at first that his grandfather told him to choose a bride soon, and while Seiji was taking his time in 'choosing' and courting women who were above what he was used to, his grandfather lied to him.

"You're taking your time, and you're almost out of college." Eijiro would lecture, "If you do not find a bride before then, I have someone in mind that may be a better choice."

And after that, even though Seiji thought about certain ones, every time he would bring them up in a conversation with Eijiro, Eijiro would shoot his choices down. Isolation soon took over as he stopped searching and gave in to Eijiro's already made plan. That was when he met Noriko Asa, She was charming, obedient, and quiet. Too boring for Seiji to handle. But as being raised in giri, he had to keep quiet and do his duty with exact perfectness. Still, though isolation was a part of what it meant to follow others rather than your own heart, he still held hope maybe Noriko would not want to marry him. But, it was tradition and even though they lived in modern times, there were many people in Japan who arranged marriages. It was just the way things were and he was conditioned to believe that. Now that he looked back, however, the more he could feel resentment to the whole thing.

After mulling the question over, Seiji sighed, "I…" He hesitated to answer such a question, really. He wasn't sure of himself or what he wanted. In actuality, all he really wanted to do was be free of the chains that bound him since birth. But like the 'choice' he had being a Ronin Warrior, this was something he would have to overcome in time.

He was aware Satsuki was looking at him pointedly. "Seiji, it's very difficult to know what's going through your head, but let me try to get into it for the moment." She said, "You're confused, I get that. You're given this false pretenses that you're free to choose your own way, but someone tugs at your hand and tell you, 'Go this way, not your way. My way is better. Smoother.' It's hard for you to give a direct answer because you want freedom, but you feel honor bound so strongly, it's second nature to you to automatically say yes. I'm afraid, niichan that you're going down such a dangerous road that had a dead end."

"Suki." Seiji said softly. He grasped her hand that she laid on the table, palm up as if inviting him to hold her hand.

"Why did you run away from your friends and not share with them what you're going through? They're very worried, Seiji."

"I know," Seiji said, his voice hoarse. "I did something bad, Suki…" He bowed his head in shame.

"What is it?"

"Nasuti and I met near a resting place at the resort and – I – I kissed her."

"You…kissed Nasuti." Satsuki said slowly. Her face was a mixture of confusion and surprise. "Seiji—please tell me you didn't—"

"I walked away…I kept repeating how sorry I was – and I didn't go to her to stop her from leaving either. I didn't discuss it with her. She left before I could even grab the courage." Seiji pushed his hand over his face harshly, trying to numb the faint pounding of an oncoming headache. The ache in his chest seemed to have intensified.

"Did you even try calling her?" Satsuki asked. Seiji wasn't surprised that he didn't get a lecture from his younger sibling, which is why he confided in her. She may have looked very staggered, but she knew how much pressure he was already under. He didn't need extra.

"No, I don't know her number."

"Seiji." She said sharply, "You could have gotten it from one of your friends." She sounded aghast.

"I can't talk to them, Suki. You know how protective they're of Nasuti. If they found out the reason why she took off, which I'm sure they speculate something happened between Naste and me, they'd strangle me. Shuu more than anyone else."

"The way you're acting now, I want to strangle you." She grumbled under her breath. "But, aside from that, I can give you her number, only if you promise to call her."

"She may not want to talk with me." Seiji said, downcast.

"Pfft, she's Naste, she'll talk to you. She was the first female outside of our family to have a similar bond with that you didn't hold with Yayoi or I. I even remember you saying you had a small crush on her when you were sixteen." Satsuki smirked.

Seiji scoffed, "It was just a boy crush. And you have a long memory."

"I have to in order to torture my only niichan." Suki stuck her tongue out and picked up her drink. Looking up from her drink, her eyes widened and she started to choke on her drink. Seiji frowned.

"Are you okay?"

Satsuki pointed behind him in which he looked back after Suki's coughing subsided to long gasps of air. He knew it must have gone down the wrong pipe. Just as he turned, he saw a balding man with a smart suit and a young red-headed lady that looked oddly familiar. It wasn't until she moved across the way without one glance at him that he recognized it to be Nasuti. His heart beat as he looked at her as she passed. He was about to sigh in relief when Satsuki bellowed:

"Naste!" Satsuki waved when Nasuti turned, as did the man. The man had a friendly face with a pointy nose and good natured eyes. Seiji looked down at his drink instead of acknowledging the woman.

"Suki!" Nasuti said with a grin on her face, her eyes sparlking at seeing her friend again. "You've grown!"

"Just an inch more. I think that's it though. Five-foot-two is enough. Don't want to get as tall as Seiji-kun." Satsuki said, getting up and hugging Nasuti.

At the mention of Seiji's name, Nasuti's eyes flickered fleetingly to the hunched over Ronin of Light. She looked quite disappointed that he wouldn't even acknowledge her.

Satsuki felt the unease flickering around the older woman. Satsuki put a hand on Seiji's shoulder and said in a calm yet forceful voice, "Say hi to Naste, Seiji."

Seiji concealed his face and let a smile grace his lips, not before glaring at his amused little sister. "Hello again, Nasuti."

"Hello." Nasuti said, coolly regarding the paled man. "I see you're doing quite well."

"Yes, I am. " He said just as coolly. He felt a twinge of hopelessness that seemed to drive him to at least say something akin to an apology. But he couldn't get it into brain to make his mouth move.

"Good." She said, nodding to Satsuki. "It was a pleasure seeing you Suki." She warmly hugged Satsuki and stared at Seiji, unsure of what to do or say. The man waiting for her who did not oblige to have the normal nicecities of introducing himself, bowed slightly.

"We should really get to our table, Yagyu-san." His voice sounded gravelly, a bit too much cigarettes he had smoked most probably caused his voice to sound like that.

"Yes, we should. If you'll excuse us." Nasuti said bowing her head.

Satsuki frowned and watched as the two walked away and disappeared into a crowd of people. They must have had a table on the other side. "That went well." She said dryly.

"Shut up." Seiji said, his cheeks burning from the inside out.

"I guess we should get going?" Satsuki tilted her head as she looked at her half-eaten food.

"Yeah. I have to get going to run some errands before heading back home." Seiji said.

As they made their way out of the small café, Satsuki grasped his hand before he could push his hand through the light sweater he had brought just in case it started to get a little cool. He looked at her questionably when she said, "I'll text her number and you call her. Tell her what's going on. I'm sure she'll understand."

Seiji shook his head. "No. Thing is, I'd rather it not get complicated any more than it already is between us. Besides, it'll all be water under the bridge later."

"I don't think this sort of thing can just be cleanly swept under the rug with you two not talking with each other. I can tell you one thing; nothing will get settled and you'll lose a very important asset to your life. You'll be even more miserable."

Seiji regarded her with cool eyes but then sighed, "I'm sorry Suki. I'm just too busy to be concerned about a woman who I once liked. I admire her and am glad for her friendship; but the more I think about it, maybe this is the way to go. Less complications."

Satsuki rolled her eyes but didn't speak about it. She let the matter drop. "Well, I should get going then." She knew she couldn't change her brother's mind. But – there were other ways of convincing him subtly to talk with Nasuti. She hid her smirk as she hugged him gently and went on her way as he did as well.