The alarm buzzing woke Uryu up for the first time in ages. Nemu was reading through one of his textbooks, looking up when he pulled back his sheets and got out of bed. I'm going to be late for school!" he exclaimed, hurrying to get ready.
"You have school on the weekends too?" she asked.
Uryu stopped as he realized he had forgotten today was Saturday. He frowned and sat down on his bed, trying to fight back his disappointment. He wanted to get away from Nemu for a while, now he had no excuse. She wasn't responsible for the fact that he had dreamed about her last night, even if it was harmless. She was modeling a Quincy wedding dress, and then suddenly she was the bride on top of a wedding cake and he was the groom. It was a stupid dream brought on by her questions last night, but it was impossible to ignore the fact that having a beautiful woman assigned to always be with him was dangerous, especially if she was as innocent as she seemed about relationships. Of course he had no experience in that respect, either. "I'll go get breakfast." he told her before almost sprinting out the door.
A puzzled look came over Nemu's face. Uryu was usually so proper, it wasn't like him to run around in his underwear.
"I should be able to finish your dress today." he said when he came back a short while later with the promised food.
"Thank you. Do you make dresses for, what was her name, Orihime, too?" she asked.
"I would if she wanted me to." he replied.
"You care for her, don't you?" Nemu took a sip of her tea.
"She's a friend." Uryu said in a tone he hoped would end the discussion. He would have liked to be more than friends with her, but it was obvious her interests were elsewhere. Was that who Nemu thought he was planning to marry? It was almost funny. "I'll finish your dress after breakfast and then I'm going to spend some time outside."
Nemu nodded, choosing to be quiet since apparently she couldn't stop asking questions that upset him, so they finished their meal in a tense silence. The atmosphere between them improved afterwards, with Uryu enjoying working on the dress, and Nemu content to watch him work.
"There you go." he said proudly as he handed her the finished product. "Of course you don't have to wear it if you don't want to." he added a moment later. He didn't want to force her to wear anything on top of her being forced to stay in his room all the time. Gathering up some of his textbooks, he went outside and sat under the tree Chad and Noba had hid behind. It didn't take him long to get absorbed in his studying, even though he would occassionally look up at his window, to find Nemu watching him. He noticed she had put on the Quincy dress the first time he checked on her, and managed a smile for her. He wasn't sure how long he had been out there when he noticed she wasn't there anymore, which was the only warning he had.
"Wow, you really are living on the edge, aren't you?" came Ichigo's mocking voice. "It's a sunny Saturday and you've got your nose in a book." he said as he appeared with Chad and Orihime right behind him.
"And? I'm not the one everyone calls a fool." Uryu retorted.
"That's because you never listen to anyone." Ichigo countered. "You get called it plenty."
"What do you want?" Uryu asked.
"We're kidnapping you!" Orihime beamed at him. "For a day of fun!"
"I appreciate the thought, but I'm not interested." he told her, turning back to his book.
"I told you that you don't listen. She said we're kidnapping you." Ichigo nodded at Chad, who grabbed him as Noba popped up and opened a portal.
"Did you have fun with your friends?" Nemu asked him when he returned.
"Not really, we have different ideas about entertainment." he answered truthfully, if not honestly. He probably would have enjoyed himself some if he hadn't felt guilty about her, and decided to change the topic. "Does the dress feel comfortable?" He didn't see any design flaws, but one could never tell.
"Yes, thank you." she said.
"You're welcome." Uryu was grateful for the interruption of the dinner knock before he embarrassed himself with her, trying to find something neutral to talk about.
The weekend wasn't relaxing for Uryu. His dreams still included her, and he was looking forward to school to escape her constant presence. Nemu was aware he seemed on edge, so tried to keep to herself as much as possible. School didn't help him much, and the week dragged on miserably for them both until things changed Thursday night at dinner.
"I have a medical conference coming up, I leave tomorrow night and should be back next weekend." Ryuken told his son indifferently.
"Very well." Uryu responded in kind, though inwardly he was far from indifferent. His dreams about Nemu continued, only they had gone from innocent to erotic, and it hadn't been safe to do anything about it until now.
"I have some good news." Uryu told Nemu when he came back to his room. "My father is leaving tomorrow for a week, so you'll be able to explore the house, and even sleep in a different room if you want." he happily informed her.
"Oh, I see." Nemu replied.
"You're not happy about that?" Uryu was taken aback by her unenthusiastic response. "Aren't you tired of being cooped up here?"
"It's not that bad. And I'm supposed to protect you. It's easier to do that if I'm close by." she pointed out.
"Well, promise me you'll think about it." he almost begged her. If it was wrong to force her to stay, forcing her to leave was just as bad. The intolerable situation he was in wasn't her fault, he just desperately wanted some relief from the effect she had on him by always being there.
"If it's that important to you, of course I'll do it." she offered.
"We'll talk about it tomorrow, it's time for bed. Good night, Nemu."
"Good night, Uryu." she automatically replied.
He wasn't surprised to hear her melancholic song again as he lay awake with his thoughts, only this time he shared her sentiments, wishing he knew the music as well.