Part 12
Tsukushi drifted up from a deep and dreamless slumber. As awareness slowly returned, she could not at first remember where she was. The warmth of the heavy comforter that enveloped her seemed to deny conscious thought. But then, like a lightning strike, she felt movement at her back.
" . . . What??!" Her electrified brain clicked into gear, "Oh No!" The memories of last night came flooding back. "Could I really have been so utterly stupid as to fall asleep in the bed of Nishikado Soujiro?" Apparently, the answer was a resounding Yes. Slowly it dawned on her that the warm weight at her back was not, in fact, due to the quilt at all. Rather, it was the boy himself, curled up behind her, with one arm flung out over the comforter that covered her.
"Whoa, I must have been even more out of it than I thought," Tsukushi admonished herself. "Now how can I get out of this? Is it possible to sneak back to my room without waking him, and pretend that all of last night was just some twisted dream?" She was afraid to move, for fear of waking the sleeper behind her. Tsukushi was sure that it would be an uncomfortable meeting when they were both awake at last.
Soujiro, who was not in fact asleep, had been thinking much along these same lines. He had awoken some minutes earlier, in a familiar position. It was quite common for him to rouse from sleep cuddled up to some woman, and he would often lie there pretending to sleep still, as he put off facing the day, and sometimes, more often than he'd like to admit, wracking his brain for the name of the girl sleeping beside him. This time he'd no problem recalling who it was that he'd instinctively curled up to during the night; the problem instead, lay in how to move away before she woke up and kicked his ass for taking such liberties, unmeant as they may have been. Too, as long as Tsukushi lay asleep, Soujiro was content to feel her back pressed up against him-even if such comforts were unintentional, they still were soothing.
Neither realized the other might have been merely shamming sleep, and so the moment continued for quite some time, as each lay still and debated how to gracefully escape this embarrassing predicament.
Elsewhere in the house, Akira had awoken - it was after all, well past noon, and was debating whether or not to get his guests up for breakfast. He decided to give them a few minutes more while he prepared coffee in the small kitchen; doubtlessly it would be well appreciated when he kicked the groggy sleepers awake at last.
He had just sat down at the table to enjoy a cup of the strong brew himself, when Rui made his appearance in the doorway.
"Coffee?" he said blearily, as he tried to rub the sleep from his eyes.
"What else but?" Akira quirked an eyebrow at the sight of his friend. He'd expected Rui to be the last to awaken; his friend was not known for his early morning tendencies. Nevertheless, he shrugged and poured Rui a cup of his own; lots of milk, no sugar. "Seen any sign of Makino or Soujiro yet?" he inquired.
Rui shook his head, "Nah, Tsukushi went to sleep after me; she'll probably get up soon."
Akira was curious as to exactly when Rui had last seen Tsukushi last night, "Was that before or after I was with her?" he wondered silently, "Must've been before," he assured himself, "She looked like she couldn't stay awake a minute longer when she left me." Aloud, all he said was,
"Ah, She must've slept enough by now. The day's wasting away! And the coffee's ready. I'll go see if she cares to join us. Do you want to go roust Soujiro?"
"No, you know what he's like in the morning. You can handle him too." Rui was feeling to lazy to deal with Soujiro's freshly-wakened thorniness.
"Geh, " Akira wrinkled his nose in distaste, but set off to do his duty.
"Knock-knock!" Akira paused outside of Tsukushi's door. "Coffee's ready! Is anybody home?" When there was no reply, he tested the door, and finding it unlocked, entered the room. "Huh, she's not here?" Akira scratched his head in confusion. "The bed doesn't even look slept in." A stray thought entered his mind, "hmm. Maybe she actually slept with Rui, and that's why he didn't want me to come wake her up? That would explain why he's actually awake now- he thought to give her time to sneak back here before I found out. Sneaky bastard." Akira shook his head in admiration. "Let's go take a look-see."
He was sadly disappointed, when upon entering Rui's room, there was no sign of Makino. "Where could that strange woman have gone off too?" He shrugged, "Oh well, I suppose I shouldn't put off waking Soujiro any longer. He can help us look for Makino. She can't have gone too far."
Knocking briskly at Soujiro's door, Akira shouted, "Hey you! Get up, coffee's ready!" He didn't wait for an answer but entered the room intent on turning the notoriously heavy sleeper out of bed.
Both Soujiro and Tsukushi had been jolted out of their half-waking state at the first knock on the door, but neither had the time, much less the presence of mind, to move more than a few centimeters before Akira flung open the door.
"Whoa! . . ." Nothing could have prepared Akira for the scene which met his eyes in that room.
Tsukushi finally managed to force her muscles into action, and sat up, blushing furiously, and wishing she could just crawl back under the covers and die.
Covering his utter shock with an attempt at humor, Akira managed to turned a hurt gaze on Tsukushi, "Didn't I tell you that if you needed anything during the night, you should come find me? Instead you turn to this joker?"
"Noth . Nothing happened! You don't understand!" Tsukushi shouted and blushed even redder.
Akira was playing a game Soujiro understood. "May as well try to salvage this the best I can," he thought, and lazily sitting up, he stretched, locking his elbows behind his head, and confidently riposted with, "Well, It's obvious that Tsukushi has better taste than you give her credit for." Soujiro grinned one of his patented lady-killer smiles, "After all, I really know how to treat a lady."
Akira was completely dumbfounded. Was Soujiro saying that he and Makino had actually done something? But why, after Soujiro had conceded the wager? He must be missing something here, if only he knew what it was.
"Shouldn't you leave now?" Soujiro hinted smugly, while Tsukushi continued to sit in horrified shock.
"Umm, right," Akira caught his breath, "I'll see you two at breakfast." With this, he hurried out of the room, closing the door softly behind him. He didn't quite think he was prepared to go talk to Rui yet, after that little episode, so he went back to his room and stared out the window, 'till he was ready to break the news to his friend.
As the door closed behind Akira, Tsukushi finally remembered to breathe again. Now if only she could think of something to say.
"Err, . . " she began, but Soujiro interrupted her
"You fell asleep before we could play last night," he pouted, "but I think we might have time now, before they expect us at breakfast." Now that he'd put on his public face, it was easy to return to flirtatious banter, and forget any harsh truths that might have been inadvertently spoken in the night.
Tsukushi 's eyes widened at his manner, and she prepared to slap him for his boldness.
"Relax," Soujiro laughed, "I was just kidding! Come on, it's time to face the world. . . ."
Tsukushi nodded, wondering if words of last night would remain unspoken. "Can I really just pretend it never happened? . . . And well, it's not like anything really did, after all. . . ."
Sensing her confusion, Soujiro turned his dark eyes her way, and added, more seriously, "Worried about what Akira thinks? I'll talk to him later. He'll be fine."
Again, Tsukushi nodded wordlessly. Slowly, she got to her feet, and turned to go.
"Thank you, Soujiro," She murmured, (thank you for being such a gentleman; thank you for being there when I'd nobody left to turn to; thank you for everything,) she added silently.
"Hey! Just don't go making a habit of falling into my bed!" Soujiro teased in reply, though his eyes were anything but mocking. He could not bring himself to drop his flirtatious façade now that it had been erected for the day.
But at the last, when Tsukushi was just about to leave, he managed to speak up seriously once more. "You're welcome, Tsukushi. . . And. . . Thank you. . ." was all that he said. But that was OK. Nothing more needed to be said; they both understood what was meant.
Still in her pajamas, Tsukushi made her way to the kitchen. The only other thing she had to wear, was her dress from last night, and she was unwilling to put it back on yet.
Akira had not yet returned, and only Rui was there to greet her.
"Hey," he greeted cautiously, unsure of what her mood might be like this morning.
"Hey yourself," Tsukushi attempted a small smile. It felt good, so as she poured herself a cup of coffee, she tried on a grin, "Isn't it a lovely morning? How are you today? Did you sleep well?" She was almost as surprised as Rui, to realize that she actually was in a good mood now. She felt prepared to take on the world if need be.
Rui nodded, "I'm glad to see you looking so. . . energetic," he at last settled on that as a safe statement.
"Why don't you ask her what might have brought that on?" Akira's sardonic voice rang out from the doorway. Tsukushi's response was swift. She dropped her coffee mug, spun around, and in one lightning fast move, had pinned Akira up against the wall; her arm tight against his throat.
"Don't you dare say a word," she growled, "You don't understand a thing. So shut up!" Relaxing her grip a little, she continued, in a low whisper, "It was nothing. Don't make assumptions! . . . If you say a word I swear I'll break your kneecaps. . . . Though perhaps it might be more appropriate to tear out your larynx," she reflected dangerously. "Do you get it?"
Akira nodded helplessly (well, as best he could nod with his neck compressed between Tsukushi's bony arm and the equally unforgiving wall.)
"Good." Tsukushi let go of him and stalked back to where her coffee awaited, "Don't test me this early in the day."
Throughout this exchange, Rui had continued to sit at the table, looking thoroughly bemused as he glanced from Tsukushi to Akira and back again.
"Anybody want to let me in on the secret?" he asked plaintively.
Akira looked at Tsukushi, who shrugged, and denied everything, "Nothing, I just didn't want to hear Akira's twisted sense of humor right now. It might spoil my mood." She glared darkly at Akira, daring him to contradict her.
Something was up, Rui reflected as he covertly watched Tsukushi's stormy eyes. I wonder why Akira's bothering her? He'd find out eventually, no sense worrying about it now.. . .
Tsukushi turned back to her coffee, while Akira slouched his way over to the table,
"Damn it why do you have to be so violent?" he grumbled, still rubbing his sore neck, echoes of Tsukasa strangling him mere days ago ringing in his memory Perhaps it was a sign to mind his own business? Nah, not possible. He supposed near death experiences must be the price one had to pay for having interesting friends.
"I didn't start it." Tsukushi airily replied, "You should have let me sleep a few more hours if you want me to be nice."
"Sleep? Hah," Akira snorted silently in disbelief, careful not to let his expression change. He was not willing to face Tsukushi's wrath again quite so soon.
Just then, a suprisingly cheerful Soujiro made his appearance in the doorway, "Morning all! What's for breakfast?"
"Fine time you choose to make an appearance." Akira's mood had been completely ruined for the day, and Soujiro's apparent ebullience just seemed to rub his face in his discomfort. "Couldn't you have arrived a few minutes earlier to save me from that crazy woman?"
"Eh?" Soujiro looked confused. He was sure he understood Akira's bad mood though; and he was going to have to have a long talk with him real soon now- as soon as he could get rid of Rui. After all, no matter how innocent events really had been, he did not think Rui would easily forgive him for the unintended usurpation of his role as guardian of Tsukushi's sleep.
But it was Rui who answered the question. "Akira's just miffed that Tsukushi decided to beat him up." He shrugged mildly, "Don't ask me why though, no one's telling me anything." He smiled suddenly, "I'd have saved you, Akira, but Tsukushi's cute when she's angry." With that conversation stopper, he went back to his breakfast.
Soujiro heaved a silent sigh of relief. Akira hadn't managed to say anything to Rui. Everything would be ok, if everyone continued to act normal.
And so they did; though it couldn't not be said that any of them actually felt normal. Rui was mulling over the best way to apologize to Tsukushi for his forwardness last night, and to win her over again. Akira was replaying over and over again the scene he'd walked into this morning and trying to find a different interpretation than the one he kept returning to. Soujiro was wondering how to keep Tsukasa and Rui from learning about events. And Tsukushi-well, she was worried about Doumyouji again. Having made a determined effort to not think about events in this house, her thoughts could not help but returning to the absent boy.
Following breakfast, Tsukushi said her goodbyes, and headed for home. Refusing any offer of transportation, "I've imposed on you all enough already," she walked briskly for the nearest train station. Around her, a warm afternoon sun beat down, and Tsukushi breathed more easily for being on her own at last. As long as she remained strong, everything would work itself out, in the end.
Rui left shortly after Tsukushi's departure; he went home to sleep some more, as it did not appear that Tsukushi would need him today.
This left Akira and Soujiro alone at last, and Soujiro hastily took the opportunity to provide Akira with a heavily edited version of his experience last night, (leaving out all mention of his own inner turmoil or motivations). Akira was admittedly somewhat incredulous, but could see no reason for his friend to lie to him; never before had Soujiro been ashamed to admit his amorous activities, so, with a shrug, Akira provisionally accepted Soujiro's tale of innocence.
"Typical Makino," he snorted at last. "I think," he began again, after a brief pause. "That, given Tsukushi's propensity for violence, and her current ire towards me, that I'm going to concede our bet as well. After all, if you couldn't even get anywhere with that psycho woman after sleeping with her, than what chance am I likely to have in the near future?"
"It's just as well," Soujiro nodded, "Still, it was an interesting attempt wasn't it?"
"Indeed." Akira nodded.
"So, shall we place a new wager??" Soujiro suggested, "Rui or Tsukasa to win?"
"I can't even begin to guess," Akira shook his head, "I wish both of them luck. Though how they can keep up with that woman is beyond me."
"Well, neither of them is as well adjusted as us." Soujiro quipped. "Speaking of which, you up for hitting the bars tonight? I think I promised some college girls I'd meet them tonight-or is that too young for you?"
The two friends laughed as they put this adventure behind them. Shadows still lurked, hidden behind Soujiro's bright eyes, but as long as no one could see them, he could pretend that everything was all right, that everything was just as it had always been.
To be Continued..
but not till next Wednesday at the earliest, probably. - going away for weekend, and I really should write that bloody term paper.
Tsukushi drifted up from a deep and dreamless slumber. As awareness slowly returned, she could not at first remember where she was. The warmth of the heavy comforter that enveloped her seemed to deny conscious thought. But then, like a lightning strike, she felt movement at her back.
" . . . What??!" Her electrified brain clicked into gear, "Oh No!" The memories of last night came flooding back. "Could I really have been so utterly stupid as to fall asleep in the bed of Nishikado Soujiro?" Apparently, the answer was a resounding Yes. Slowly it dawned on her that the warm weight at her back was not, in fact, due to the quilt at all. Rather, it was the boy himself, curled up behind her, with one arm flung out over the comforter that covered her.
"Whoa, I must have been even more out of it than I thought," Tsukushi admonished herself. "Now how can I get out of this? Is it possible to sneak back to my room without waking him, and pretend that all of last night was just some twisted dream?" She was afraid to move, for fear of waking the sleeper behind her. Tsukushi was sure that it would be an uncomfortable meeting when they were both awake at last.
Soujiro, who was not in fact asleep, had been thinking much along these same lines. He had awoken some minutes earlier, in a familiar position. It was quite common for him to rouse from sleep cuddled up to some woman, and he would often lie there pretending to sleep still, as he put off facing the day, and sometimes, more often than he'd like to admit, wracking his brain for the name of the girl sleeping beside him. This time he'd no problem recalling who it was that he'd instinctively curled up to during the night; the problem instead, lay in how to move away before she woke up and kicked his ass for taking such liberties, unmeant as they may have been. Too, as long as Tsukushi lay asleep, Soujiro was content to feel her back pressed up against him-even if such comforts were unintentional, they still were soothing.
Neither realized the other might have been merely shamming sleep, and so the moment continued for quite some time, as each lay still and debated how to gracefully escape this embarrassing predicament.
Elsewhere in the house, Akira had awoken - it was after all, well past noon, and was debating whether or not to get his guests up for breakfast. He decided to give them a few minutes more while he prepared coffee in the small kitchen; doubtlessly it would be well appreciated when he kicked the groggy sleepers awake at last.
He had just sat down at the table to enjoy a cup of the strong brew himself, when Rui made his appearance in the doorway.
"Coffee?" he said blearily, as he tried to rub the sleep from his eyes.
"What else but?" Akira quirked an eyebrow at the sight of his friend. He'd expected Rui to be the last to awaken; his friend was not known for his early morning tendencies. Nevertheless, he shrugged and poured Rui a cup of his own; lots of milk, no sugar. "Seen any sign of Makino or Soujiro yet?" he inquired.
Rui shook his head, "Nah, Tsukushi went to sleep after me; she'll probably get up soon."
Akira was curious as to exactly when Rui had last seen Tsukushi last night, "Was that before or after I was with her?" he wondered silently, "Must've been before," he assured himself, "She looked like she couldn't stay awake a minute longer when she left me." Aloud, all he said was,
"Ah, She must've slept enough by now. The day's wasting away! And the coffee's ready. I'll go see if she cares to join us. Do you want to go roust Soujiro?"
"No, you know what he's like in the morning. You can handle him too." Rui was feeling to lazy to deal with Soujiro's freshly-wakened thorniness.
"Geh, " Akira wrinkled his nose in distaste, but set off to do his duty.
"Knock-knock!" Akira paused outside of Tsukushi's door. "Coffee's ready! Is anybody home?" When there was no reply, he tested the door, and finding it unlocked, entered the room. "Huh, she's not here?" Akira scratched his head in confusion. "The bed doesn't even look slept in." A stray thought entered his mind, "hmm. Maybe she actually slept with Rui, and that's why he didn't want me to come wake her up? That would explain why he's actually awake now- he thought to give her time to sneak back here before I found out. Sneaky bastard." Akira shook his head in admiration. "Let's go take a look-see."
He was sadly disappointed, when upon entering Rui's room, there was no sign of Makino. "Where could that strange woman have gone off too?" He shrugged, "Oh well, I suppose I shouldn't put off waking Soujiro any longer. He can help us look for Makino. She can't have gone too far."
Knocking briskly at Soujiro's door, Akira shouted, "Hey you! Get up, coffee's ready!" He didn't wait for an answer but entered the room intent on turning the notoriously heavy sleeper out of bed.
Both Soujiro and Tsukushi had been jolted out of their half-waking state at the first knock on the door, but neither had the time, much less the presence of mind, to move more than a few centimeters before Akira flung open the door.
"Whoa! . . ." Nothing could have prepared Akira for the scene which met his eyes in that room.
Tsukushi finally managed to force her muscles into action, and sat up, blushing furiously, and wishing she could just crawl back under the covers and die.
Covering his utter shock with an attempt at humor, Akira managed to turned a hurt gaze on Tsukushi, "Didn't I tell you that if you needed anything during the night, you should come find me? Instead you turn to this joker?"
"Noth . Nothing happened! You don't understand!" Tsukushi shouted and blushed even redder.
Akira was playing a game Soujiro understood. "May as well try to salvage this the best I can," he thought, and lazily sitting up, he stretched, locking his elbows behind his head, and confidently riposted with, "Well, It's obvious that Tsukushi has better taste than you give her credit for." Soujiro grinned one of his patented lady-killer smiles, "After all, I really know how to treat a lady."
Akira was completely dumbfounded. Was Soujiro saying that he and Makino had actually done something? But why, after Soujiro had conceded the wager? He must be missing something here, if only he knew what it was.
"Shouldn't you leave now?" Soujiro hinted smugly, while Tsukushi continued to sit in horrified shock.
"Umm, right," Akira caught his breath, "I'll see you two at breakfast." With this, he hurried out of the room, closing the door softly behind him. He didn't quite think he was prepared to go talk to Rui yet, after that little episode, so he went back to his room and stared out the window, 'till he was ready to break the news to his friend.
As the door closed behind Akira, Tsukushi finally remembered to breathe again. Now if only she could think of something to say.
"Err, . . " she began, but Soujiro interrupted her
"You fell asleep before we could play last night," he pouted, "but I think we might have time now, before they expect us at breakfast." Now that he'd put on his public face, it was easy to return to flirtatious banter, and forget any harsh truths that might have been inadvertently spoken in the night.
Tsukushi 's eyes widened at his manner, and she prepared to slap him for his boldness.
"Relax," Soujiro laughed, "I was just kidding! Come on, it's time to face the world. . . ."
Tsukushi nodded, wondering if words of last night would remain unspoken. "Can I really just pretend it never happened? . . . And well, it's not like anything really did, after all. . . ."
Sensing her confusion, Soujiro turned his dark eyes her way, and added, more seriously, "Worried about what Akira thinks? I'll talk to him later. He'll be fine."
Again, Tsukushi nodded wordlessly. Slowly, she got to her feet, and turned to go.
"Thank you, Soujiro," She murmured, (thank you for being such a gentleman; thank you for being there when I'd nobody left to turn to; thank you for everything,) she added silently.
"Hey! Just don't go making a habit of falling into my bed!" Soujiro teased in reply, though his eyes were anything but mocking. He could not bring himself to drop his flirtatious façade now that it had been erected for the day.
But at the last, when Tsukushi was just about to leave, he managed to speak up seriously once more. "You're welcome, Tsukushi. . . And. . . Thank you. . ." was all that he said. But that was OK. Nothing more needed to be said; they both understood what was meant.
Still in her pajamas, Tsukushi made her way to the kitchen. The only other thing she had to wear, was her dress from last night, and she was unwilling to put it back on yet.
Akira had not yet returned, and only Rui was there to greet her.
"Hey," he greeted cautiously, unsure of what her mood might be like this morning.
"Hey yourself," Tsukushi attempted a small smile. It felt good, so as she poured herself a cup of coffee, she tried on a grin, "Isn't it a lovely morning? How are you today? Did you sleep well?" She was almost as surprised as Rui, to realize that she actually was in a good mood now. She felt prepared to take on the world if need be.
Rui nodded, "I'm glad to see you looking so. . . energetic," he at last settled on that as a safe statement.
"Why don't you ask her what might have brought that on?" Akira's sardonic voice rang out from the doorway. Tsukushi's response was swift. She dropped her coffee mug, spun around, and in one lightning fast move, had pinned Akira up against the wall; her arm tight against his throat.
"Don't you dare say a word," she growled, "You don't understand a thing. So shut up!" Relaxing her grip a little, she continued, in a low whisper, "It was nothing. Don't make assumptions! . . . If you say a word I swear I'll break your kneecaps. . . . Though perhaps it might be more appropriate to tear out your larynx," she reflected dangerously. "Do you get it?"
Akira nodded helplessly (well, as best he could nod with his neck compressed between Tsukushi's bony arm and the equally unforgiving wall.)
"Good." Tsukushi let go of him and stalked back to where her coffee awaited, "Don't test me this early in the day."
Throughout this exchange, Rui had continued to sit at the table, looking thoroughly bemused as he glanced from Tsukushi to Akira and back again.
"Anybody want to let me in on the secret?" he asked plaintively.
Akira looked at Tsukushi, who shrugged, and denied everything, "Nothing, I just didn't want to hear Akira's twisted sense of humor right now. It might spoil my mood." She glared darkly at Akira, daring him to contradict her.
Something was up, Rui reflected as he covertly watched Tsukushi's stormy eyes. I wonder why Akira's bothering her? He'd find out eventually, no sense worrying about it now.. . .
Tsukushi turned back to her coffee, while Akira slouched his way over to the table,
"Damn it why do you have to be so violent?" he grumbled, still rubbing his sore neck, echoes of Tsukasa strangling him mere days ago ringing in his memory Perhaps it was a sign to mind his own business? Nah, not possible. He supposed near death experiences must be the price one had to pay for having interesting friends.
"I didn't start it." Tsukushi airily replied, "You should have let me sleep a few more hours if you want me to be nice."
"Sleep? Hah," Akira snorted silently in disbelief, careful not to let his expression change. He was not willing to face Tsukushi's wrath again quite so soon.
Just then, a suprisingly cheerful Soujiro made his appearance in the doorway, "Morning all! What's for breakfast?"
"Fine time you choose to make an appearance." Akira's mood had been completely ruined for the day, and Soujiro's apparent ebullience just seemed to rub his face in his discomfort. "Couldn't you have arrived a few minutes earlier to save me from that crazy woman?"
"Eh?" Soujiro looked confused. He was sure he understood Akira's bad mood though; and he was going to have to have a long talk with him real soon now- as soon as he could get rid of Rui. After all, no matter how innocent events really had been, he did not think Rui would easily forgive him for the unintended usurpation of his role as guardian of Tsukushi's sleep.
But it was Rui who answered the question. "Akira's just miffed that Tsukushi decided to beat him up." He shrugged mildly, "Don't ask me why though, no one's telling me anything." He smiled suddenly, "I'd have saved you, Akira, but Tsukushi's cute when she's angry." With that conversation stopper, he went back to his breakfast.
Soujiro heaved a silent sigh of relief. Akira hadn't managed to say anything to Rui. Everything would be ok, if everyone continued to act normal.
And so they did; though it couldn't not be said that any of them actually felt normal. Rui was mulling over the best way to apologize to Tsukushi for his forwardness last night, and to win her over again. Akira was replaying over and over again the scene he'd walked into this morning and trying to find a different interpretation than the one he kept returning to. Soujiro was wondering how to keep Tsukasa and Rui from learning about events. And Tsukushi-well, she was worried about Doumyouji again. Having made a determined effort to not think about events in this house, her thoughts could not help but returning to the absent boy.
Following breakfast, Tsukushi said her goodbyes, and headed for home. Refusing any offer of transportation, "I've imposed on you all enough already," she walked briskly for the nearest train station. Around her, a warm afternoon sun beat down, and Tsukushi breathed more easily for being on her own at last. As long as she remained strong, everything would work itself out, in the end.
Rui left shortly after Tsukushi's departure; he went home to sleep some more, as it did not appear that Tsukushi would need him today.
This left Akira and Soujiro alone at last, and Soujiro hastily took the opportunity to provide Akira with a heavily edited version of his experience last night, (leaving out all mention of his own inner turmoil or motivations). Akira was admittedly somewhat incredulous, but could see no reason for his friend to lie to him; never before had Soujiro been ashamed to admit his amorous activities, so, with a shrug, Akira provisionally accepted Soujiro's tale of innocence.
"Typical Makino," he snorted at last. "I think," he began again, after a brief pause. "That, given Tsukushi's propensity for violence, and her current ire towards me, that I'm going to concede our bet as well. After all, if you couldn't even get anywhere with that psycho woman after sleeping with her, than what chance am I likely to have in the near future?"
"It's just as well," Soujiro nodded, "Still, it was an interesting attempt wasn't it?"
"Indeed." Akira nodded.
"So, shall we place a new wager??" Soujiro suggested, "Rui or Tsukasa to win?"
"I can't even begin to guess," Akira shook his head, "I wish both of them luck. Though how they can keep up with that woman is beyond me."
"Well, neither of them is as well adjusted as us." Soujiro quipped. "Speaking of which, you up for hitting the bars tonight? I think I promised some college girls I'd meet them tonight-or is that too young for you?"
The two friends laughed as they put this adventure behind them. Shadows still lurked, hidden behind Soujiro's bright eyes, but as long as no one could see them, he could pretend that everything was all right, that everything was just as it had always been.
To be Continued..
but not till next Wednesday at the earliest, probably. - going away for weekend, and I really should write that bloody term paper.