Naïve

Ooh… ow…

Bright white light flashed before her eyes when she slowly opened them, making her squint, blink, trying to lose the effect… Fade… fade… She pleaded inwardly, turning her face away to sink more deeply into the soft material that cushioned her head, blocking out her vision. Her fugitive hands searched around, groping for anything, and found coarse flesh, a soothing palm, and she grasped it, wanting to bask in the comfort. While she was being held onto, she felt another warmth travel to her cheek, gently stroking her doe-like skin, drawing a smile onto her lips. Sighing rapturously, she started murmuring sweet nothings, moving towards the source, but a brief clinch of pain struck her back, and she instantly halted, groaning quietly.

Ouch… something… painful…

Somewhere in the corner of her mind, a voice was being acknowledged. "Wake up…" She shook her head, not wanting to leave the dreamy fantasy. "Uriko… Open your eyes…"

"Don't… want to…" she resisted, crooning up to the thin cotton sheet that she suddenly discovered was draped over her body. "Mmm…"

"Come on…" the speaker continued persuading, "You're going to make me worry and feel even more guilty if you don't eventually wake up."

"I want… to sleep…" Uriko Nonomura yawned for emphasis, while clutching the hand to her cheekbone, snuggling up to it. She was tired, in pain, she had warmth, softness, comfort; the only thing that would make her arise up from all that was her best friend-

"…If you don't get up, I'm dumping water on your face, kitten." Came the playful, yet serious threat. "It's me, Kenji. As your best friend, I wish for you to awake, so that your friend Erika, your sister, your mother, whom Alice had phoned, and I myself won't freak out in thinking that I've fatally injured you."

Her eyelids creaked open. "Kenji?" The Kenpo student shifted her position and strained to sit up to look at her friend, but again, the pain stopped her and she lied down once more. "Why is… why is my back hurting…?"

"…That was me." Long, lean fingers trailed a circle about her forehead, around her cheek, "You want to sit up? I'll help."

She managed to nod, and then strong hands slid underneath her armpits, lifting her upper body with liquid ease, releasing her when she allowed her weight to settle in her rear. Gasping sleepily when the support left her, the teenage girl fell foreword, meeting and landing onto a broad chest, feeling hard muscles against her more delicate state. Opening her eyes fully, her large brown pupils wavered slightly for a bit before she was able to focus on the images - she felt as if she had been sleeping too long. Stretching her arms up over her head, Uriko sighed and blinked, looking at her male companion with a small grin.

"You doze more than Sleeping Beauty, you know that?" He commented, smirking, but then his expression turned serious. "How are you feeling? Is your back okay? Are you mad at me? I swear, I tried to stop earlier, but-"

"Ow, hey, hey, not so many questions all at once!" She protested, rubbing her aching sinus. "Okay, so-so, and not really, respectively! And, um, what time is it right now? Is this still the same day?"

He couldn't help laughing. "Back to your normal self, that's good. But, you scared quite a few people. I was afraid that I'd broken your spine or something worse. It's almost ten o'clock currently, and yes, it's the same day; feels like you've slept for quite a while, huh?"

"......" The cat zoanthrope didn't reply, just glanced about her surroundings, taking in the shadiness of the room, as the blinds were pulled down and dusk had already arrived. She recognized the place as the living room in her house, feeling the coarse material of the couch underneath her behind, the shadowy outline of the tall lamp standing in the corner. As it was dark, she gazed at her friend, and was disappointed that she couldn't see his face clearly, although the concept of being alone with him in that amount of privacy ignited a twinge of excitement within her. Faintly, she recalled that her mother was away visiting a sick relative, and wouldn't be home until a week before summer started. The girl sighed, feeling alone, even though she obviously had company beside her. "Hey… Kenji…"

"Yes?"

"Why were you fighting with Cronos Dakinasha this afternoon?"

"Oh…" he sounded hesitant, "That… that was just a stupid dispute. You see, his car was parked next to mine, on the left side, and when I opened my door, I accidentally scratched his car, accidentally! It's not even noticeable, really, just this dingy little white scar etched in his precious dark green paint. But he completely flipped out, and threw some childish insults at me, in which I responded to, then he picked a fight with me, which you witnessed."

She tsk tsked, shaking her head. "Still fighting at sixteen and seventeen. You boys. Still feels like elementary school, or something like that?"

"Heh, perhaps," Kenji admitted with a sheepish chuckle. "But hey! It's not my fault. I didn't start it."

"Okay, well, then…"

Just then, he gazed at her with an undecipherable look in his eyes. "…He likes you, you know that, right?"

"Huh?" For a second, the female student felt that he resembled Erika, questioning her earlier about having a crush on her best male friend. "Who likes me?"

"Dakinasha. Cronos. That guy I got into a fight with. He likes you."

"Oh, please," she shook away the idea, "He just barely came here! He doesn't know me well enough to like me. And besides…" she scrunched up her face, "He never calls me by my name; it's always 'Milady' this, and 'Milady' that, you know? Hey, you heard him this afternoon."

"He has a temper problem, makes a big deal over nothing. I don't like him. He doesn't like me because he's jealous, and that is pretty much the gist of it." The dark-haired teenager shrugged. "I don't really care about what he thinks, as long as he stays out of my face."

"And out of your space?" She giggled at the rhyme. "You can't stay here forever; don't you have to go home soon and eat, sleep?"

"No school, no stress," He replied smoothly, and she spied a diminutive smile gracing his lips - though she could barely see it in the darkness, even with her heightened night vision attributes. "I already ate, rest assured. I was in your kitchen a little while ago. I hope your mother won't mind. Are you hungry, though?"

"Nah…" she yawned. "Just sleepy, still."

"It's pain medicine," the ninja informed her just then, answering her unspoken question, "Alice checked on you earlier, and gave you a shot, some kind of medicine that's supposed to numb your pain, but the side effect is that you'll feel really tired."

"That explains it…" Uriko scratched the back of her neck and lied back down. "Then let me relieve my lethargy! I'll see you later, I guess, have a safe drive home, okay?"

"Home?" He shook his head and briefly squeezed her hand, still tucked in his. "I'm not going home tonight. I'm staying here to look after you."

"You…are?"

"Yes, of course. What are friends for? And besides, I'm responsible for what happened to you…" Guilt laced his tone. "I'm… I'm very sorry, Uriko. I didn't want you to get in the middle of the… 'disagreement', between Cronos and I, earlier."

"Aw, don't worry, I'll be okay," she whispered drowsily, pressing his palm against her cheek and curling up with her bed sheet. "Just… let me rest."

Even knowing that she couldn't see him, he still nodded, then leaned down and brushed a feather-soft kiss across her cheek, saying into her ear, "Good night," before laying his head next to hers, taking a comfortable sitting position and settling to slip into his own state of slumber.

The feel of his lips made her skin tingle, and she smiled, gripping his hand more tightly, a bit reluctant to fall asleep with his presence so close by. Her dear best friend… he was deathly loyal and faithful to those that he felt bonded to, his friends, his older brother, herself. The serene darkness of the night fell over her, a blanket of security, yet the inviting whispers crooned to her seductively, conjuring up images in her mind. An inward voice pointed out her friend's closeness, their being alone together, in her unoccupied house… at night, just the two of them, and him, a wonderful person who would comfort her if she needed him.

Thoughts of the possibility of where his embraces could lead to… perhaps a kiss, shy, tentative, like the one he had given her when he was dared to at that party a while ago. But kisses, they could start out tender, yet would leisurely grow more intense, passionate, and maybe she'd get to run her fingers through his hair, and he would do the same to her. That would be followed by innocent exploration, and she could get to feel the hard muscles of his chest rippling under her palm; he'd tease her neck with his lips, then slide his hands down to her bosom, and…

Getting a grip on herself, the feline zoanthrope shook her head just then, dazed. Ack! What am I thinking! Fierce blush crept over her cheeks as she guiltily stole a look at her friend, feeling embarrassed that she was taking advantage of him, though it was just in her mind. Pushing the thoughts away, shoving them far down in a desolate corner to be forgotten, she shut her eyes and allowed blankness to lull her to sleep.

*****

"…Man! Can you believe it! Dalby's making me come into work today - he made up some excuse that one of the other employees had some emergency, so they're short today and guess who they called to fill in the spot!!"

Giggling sympathetically for her friend, Uriko assured into the phone to her best friend on the other line, "Oh, don't be mad at him, Erika. You're just such a great worker that he instantly thinks of you whenever something like this comes up; think of it as… flattery, that he respects you as an employee."

"Either that, or he figures I'm the easiest one to sucker into working extra shifts," the girl let out an exasperated sigh, "And I was planning to go to the party tonight, too! It's only in a couple more hours, and then this has to happen!"

The Kenpo student was relieved to hear her companion move onto that different subject, whereas minutes before, she had been insistently inquiring of her current condition, practically interrogating her, asking if she was okay, if she would recover from her injury. Finally, she put an end to the questions by mentioning the party, hoping that it would work, and thankfully, it steered her friend's attention to that topic.

"I'm a hundred percent sure that there'll be other parties given by Cronos," the sixteen-year-old remarked confidently, "After all, this is the same guy that has now thrown four of them in just the last three weeks!"

"If he were a girl, I'd call him a social butterfly," Erika commented with a laugh. "Hey, didn't you mention earlier that Kenji's over at your house, taking care of you? What're you guys planning to do tonight?"

"Yeah, he's here," she confirmed, rolling her eyes as she expected teasing to start. "He just went out to the store to buy me something to eat. I'm in the mood for chocolate ice cream."

"Ooh, now he's buying food for you too?? You've got it made in the shade! I swear, Wendy Kessler would kill to have all the attention that you get from Kenji!"

Uriko coughed at the mention of their class representative. "Erika, I told you, it's nothing, really! We're-"

"-Just friends, right?" the other student chorused, chuckling. "Well, you can hide it all you want! Anyway-oh, great! There's only fifteen more minutes until my shift starts! Argh… Sorry girl, but I'd better go get my butt over to work. Talk to later! Take care of yourself!"

"Thanks," the auburn-haired teenager replied.

"That is, unless you already have Kenji massaging your feet, or keeping you company while you sleep!" Erika couldn't help inputting impishly, then exclaimed, "Bye!" before her friend could respond.

"Grrr-!" The Kenpo student hung up the phone, then plopped onto the cushion seat of the couch, pouting as she crossed her arms over her chest to wait for Kenji's return.

*****

Uhh… there are a lot of flavors here… Blinking bewilderedly, the ninja stared through the freezer doors, gazing at the various colorful cartons of ice cream, not knowing which one to pick for his friend. …Damn it, Uriko didn't say which kind she wanted. Usually before, when the two went out to parlors, she would get a sundae with hot fudge slurring around the sides, but obviously that wasn't sold in the freezer aisle of grocery stores. Um… let's see… How about this one… He reached for one of the handles, pulled it open, and gazed at a carton of Neapolitan ice cream. Three flavors? Well, I know that she does adore chocolate…

"Hey, Ohgami!" A masculine voice from the side suddenly startled him; he turned to face the speaker, and saw Cronos strutting down the aisle, two friends behind him pushing along a cart of party goods.

"…Cronos." Kenji greeted coolly. "How are you."

He flashed the younger male a winning smile. "Don't fret about me, for I am fairing well. How is the madam? Has she regained consciousness since this yesterday's late noontime?"

"…Yes, she's awake," he glanced at the new student strangely, wondering about his strange word usage and sentence structuring. "She's doing fine. I'm looking after her."

The jade-haired teenager nodded. "I am pleased to hear that. Well then, are you coming to my party tonight?"

"Oh, you're throwing a party tonight?" The mole zoanthrope couldn't have seemed less interested, and his words couldn't have been coated with anymore distaste and sarcasm; "That's great. Nope, I didn't hear about it until now, so I haven't had time to prepare. Guess I can't go, what a shame."

"Then, Ohgami, I personally invite you myself to attend my party," Cronos said, grinning arrogantly. "This would be your first, no? You must come tonight. Even just for a little bit! I would like for us to forget our little dispute this afternoon; in fact, I apologize for starting the unfortunate incident. So, my party begins at nine o'clock, do come! I am sure you would enjoy yourself."

"…Thanks, really," Kenji rolled his eyes. "But I can't. I'm staying at Uriko's house to take care of her-"

"Just for a little bit?" He insisted. "I would just like for you to see what a party is like, a mere glimpse into the circular ring of adolescent socialism. Sit for a few moments, then you can proceed back to the madam's residence and tend to her once again."

He groaned inwardly; there were so many better things he could think of doing that far exceeded attending the conceited boy's party. Yet still, he had indeed never been to a party before, and was curious about its ongoings, so he found himself saying something that he'd probably regret later, "…Fine. I'll be there. But not for long."

Cronos clapped his hands together. "Splendid! Do you require directions to my home?"

The ninja nodded his confirmation, and sighed as the other student handed him a half-sheet of paper with a map leading to his house, secretly thinking that this may have been one of the most stupidest things he had agreed to doing. After the wealthy teenager and his friends had strolled away to a different portion of the grocery store, the sixteen-year-old looked at the melting carton of ice cream in his hand. He stuck that back into the freezer, and retrieved a fresh batch, then started heading for the register lines to pay for the item.