Wrong! The next Monday she didn't even bother knocking and opened the door. Apparently that's what his friends did. Her shoes crunched against more broken glass and she was seriously getting angry with whoever supplies him with beer. With her muscles protesting from the last cleaning and the recent training with the Date's she was hoping it would be a little cleaner but the same smells assaulted her nose. Now she knew why Seiji was upset and asked her if she had actually shown up when he called the night before. Storming to the windows she pulled the blinds open and opened the window loud slam.

"Go away," Ryo shouted from the couch.

Without saying a word she started sweeping up the glass. He lay on the couch with his arms crossed over his chest. At the moment she was a little pissed off. She worked so hard to clean this place the week before and it was back to square one in a week. Glaring at his relaxed form, she wondered if he did it on purpose. Obviously he didn't like her being there.

"Why do you need to clean my house anyway?" he grumbled hearing her sweeping the floor.

"I need to learn to fight so that I can protect the people I love," she said quietly.

"From what? Seriously, just go away and leave me alone," Ryo said turning on his side.

Laina seriously thought about kicking him, but figured you shouldn't kick a man when he's down. With a sigh she swept up the gross cereal and glass. While mopping the floor she thought about how it would feel to lose your sight and have to depend on people. She looked at Ryo's sleeping form and realized he was probably depressed because he felt useless. Then she realized she had mopped herself into a corner in the living room. Feeling angry with herself for being distracted she took off her shoes and socks and tiptoed to the nearest chair.

Sitting quietly she took a good look around the room. There were pictures of him smiling at weddings, quite a few of him with four other guys, a soccer team photo, and him with a white tiger. She wondered if he had any family, or if it was just his friends. Matt was her only family and she worried about him. Looking over to the couch she watched his back move with each breath. She could tell he was having a hard time dealing with his loss of sight. Maybe she could talk him, get him to sympathize with her, and talk him out of breaking more bottles… a little trust can go a long way.

"My ex-boyfriend," she said quietly, wrapping her arms around her legs and resting her chin on her knees. He moved to his back.

"What?" he asked turning his head in her direction.

"You asked what I needed to protect my brother from. The answer is my ex-boyfriend," Laina said.

"Shouldn't it be the other way around?" Ryo asked, "Shouldn't he be the one protecting you from your ex?"

"There is something wrong with the guy, my ex that is. He threatens to kill my brother, and my brother's all I have," Laina said blinking back tears.

"That's why you want to learn? Did the guy, your ex… did he hit you or something?" Ryo asked.

She took a deep breath and quietly said, "Often, but I'm done with it. I'm tired of worrying if this is the time he kills me. I want to live."

Ryo solemnly nodded his head.

"I'm tired of the glass too, by the way," she said raising an eyebrow, "Seiji wants to bring his son when he visits, but can't if you keep throwing glass around. And yes I know you are throwing the bottles."

"I am not. I accidentally drop them and they explode. I'm blind you know," Ryo said smirking.

"You ass," she said shaking her head and he proceeded to laugh.

"You have four other senses, you should try using them sometime," Laina said. Ryo touched the floor.

"Like I know the only reason you're talking to me is because you mopped yourself into a chair?" he asked with a smirk. She threw the pillow from her chair at him, hitting him in the stomach and he burst out in laughter.

"Ha, ha," she said sarcastically, which only made him laugh more.

"You should take pity on a poor blind man," he said when he finished laughing, "Deal with the glass."

"I will take no pity on you, Ryo," she said shaking her head, "You're a grown ass man. Suck it up or I will threaten to cut the balls off of your beer supplier."

"Now who's being the ass?" Ryo asked raising his eyebrows. Laina laughed as he threw the pillow back at her.

After a moment of silence Laina said, "You're not useless, you know? You can still do things, if you just try."

"Like what?" Ryo asked.

"How about turning the water on in the shower? I really don't need to see your ass naked again," she replied. The way Ryo smiled she knew he had been playing her the last time she was there. He was probably just trying to get rid of her.

"Well I figure you should get some enjoyment out of my predicament," he said cockily and put his hands behind his head, giving her a full luscious view of his tan, ripped torso. She thought about what it would be like to scrape her fingers down his abs.

Laina laughed and blushed at the same time. He sure thought highly of himself, although with his body she was sure he was allowed to.

"Well I wouldn't want to take advantage of a poor blind man," she replied, throwing his words back at him.

"You know you want to," he said giving her a smirk. And she wanted to, she really did, but now wasn't exactly the time to get together with someone else. She still had her ex to worry about… but he was gorgeous. She looked at his dazzling blue eyes and wanted to run her fingers through his silky black hair. What would he feel like? Closing her eyes she suppressed a moan as she imagined feeling the warmth of his tan skin. She could smell his soap and shampoo and shivered. Shaking her head she opened her eyes, knowing she had to get him off that topic.

"What do I smell like to you?" she asked curiously. His eyebrow furrowed like he hadn't thought about it. He took in a breath through his nose.

"Summer, like strawberries and flowers," Ryo replied. Laina watched him curiously. If anyone saw her she knew she would look like a nutcase, but she smelled her deodorant. It was kind of flowery… but where did the strawberry come from? Her soap wasn't strawberry? Her shampoo was! That was where the strawberry came from. She smelled the strands from her ponytail, but couldn't smell it. Without thinking she got up and jumped over to his couch to avoid the wet floor. He jolted as she straddled him and put her hair down by his face.

"Is it my hair? Does it smell good? I can never really smell the shampoo and conditioner in it," she said, feeling his warm breath on her hair. He let out a chuckle as his hand gently touched her hair, letting the silky tresses slide through his fingers.

"Yeah, I think it's your hair. What color is it?" Ryo asked.

Laina sat up and smiled, "Blonde."

"So you have blonde hair. What color are your eyes?" he asked as his hand fell to her bare thigh. She felt a spark of heat that pooled in her lower abdomen.

"Green," she replied, unsure of what to do. Part of her said to get up, but part of her wanted to live dangerously. His hand rubbed her upper thigh. Looking at his lips she wondered if they were as soft as they looked. This was bad. She shouldn't think of him in that way, right? Just as she was about to get up Ryo's hands gripped her thighs, holding her down. She looked at him quizzically when the door opened and Shin stepped in. He didn't notice at first, but then his eyes locked with hers. Oh Shit, he did it again.

"Watch out," she said as he stepped in and slid, landing on his rear.

"The floor's wet," she said a little too late.

"Oh, good, Shin's here. Do you see her tackling me and forcing me to smell her hair?" Ryo asked laughing. Slightly embarrassed, because technically that is what she did, all Laina could do was laugh. Ryo was good at getting her in trouble. She would have to remember how tricky he was. Shoving his hands away she got up and padded to Shin.

"I was just trying to get him to know when I'm here by how I smell," Laina said helping the poor red-head up.

Shin smiled, "Using his other senses… Brilliant."

She laughed a little at his use of the word brilliant. It was cute.

"Do you need help with the groceries?" she asked, taking a bag from him.

"Are you staying for dinner? I brought stuff to make sandwiches for lunch, as well," Shin said smiling as he looked into her eyes. Then he moved towards the kitchen.

"Sure. I don't have any plans for dinner. I'd love to stay," Laina said following him to the kitchen. She heard a groan from the couch.

"Lovely," Shin said and then added, "Just ignore the grump in there."

"I heard that," Ryo said getting up and walking to the kitchen table. He plopped down into a chair and drummed his fingers on the table. Laina took a butter knife and put it in Ryo's hand. She put the bread and lunch meat in front of him.

"What am I doing with a knife?" Ryo asked.

"Making me a sandwich," Laina replied, "I have to go finish cleaning your mess."

Ryo pointed the knife in her direction, "Make your own sandwich."

"I can make it for you," Shin said sweetly.

"No, that's okay. Ryo can. He needs to learn anyway. I'm starting to hate cereal… and beer," Laina replied leaving the room.