Ta da!! Here is Chapter Eight!! Yes, Cameron is in this chapter, and I'm very nice to him.  There is no bashing, okay?

~Lady Une-chan

Chapter Eight

January 10, UC 0080

London, England, The United Kingdom of Great Britain, Earth

The Noah Residence

            Sayla burst open the door, holding a glass of milk. "I hate to end snuggle time, but Mirai needs to take a shower."  She thrust the milk at Bright, and shooed him out of the bedroom.

            "God, you're demanding," said Mirai.

            "Up!" commanded Sayla.  Mirai slowly got out of bed, her legs stiff because she had been sitting there for more than twenty four hours.

            "Grab your stuff," said Sayla, going into the adjacent bathroom. Mirai grabbed her suitcase and followed Sayla.

            "Yor're not going to--" started Mirai.

            "I'm just  going to take off your bandage and then I'm leaving," interrupted Sayla.

            Mirai nodded and let Sayla poke and prod her.

            "Here we go,"said Sayla, "Bye." She left the room, went through the bedroom, down the stairs, and into the kitchen, where she found Bright staring at the food in the refrigerator.

            "You bought enough food to last us a lifetime."

            "So," said Sayla, sitting down at the kitchen table.

            "We are never going to be able to eat all this before it all goes bad," Bright said, picking up a carton of milk and examining it.  "See, look; an expiration date."

            "Yeah, yeah, whatever," said Sayla, drumming her fingers on the table.

            "How much money did you spend?" asked Bright, returning the carton to its space.

            "Oh, I don't know, about 250 pounds."

            "What! £250! I've never--"

            "You never spend that much because you only buy for yourself, and that means only buying bread!" Sayla snapped back.

            "Well, I don't think that three people will be able to eat all of this!"

            "Well, that's because--" Sayla started, but she stopped herself.

            "Oh no, don't tell me that more people are coming." Bright slammed the  refrigerator door shut.

            "Today is a nice day.  The sun is shining," said Sayla, looking out the window.

            "Sayla! Do not change the subject!"

            She faced Bright and stuck her tongue out. "No, I'm not going to tell you that more people are coming.  You'll just have to figure that for yourself."

            Bright gave her a look of disgust and then returned his gaze to the now closed fridge. "I do not understand how come it can close all the way with so much food in it."

            Sayla pushed the chair away from the table and stood up.  "How come we never get long?"

            "If I remember correctly, when you first joined White Base,  you made fun of me because I am part of the Earth Elite."

            Sayla smirked.

            "See! You get on my nerves." Bright watched Sayla start to pace back and forth in front of the window. "Not to mention  that I am stereotypically British and you are stereotypically French."

            Sayla continued to pace and seemed to be lost in thought.

            "There you go again, not listening to me! You know, when we first met, I was trying to be nice to you, but no! You had to go and--" Bright cut himself off.  Sayla had stopped in front of the window and was staring at something. "Oh, don't tell that me next visitor will be Amuro crashing through the window."

            "No, no, no. It isn't going to be Amuro, and the window doesn't have anything to do with it."

            "Then stop pacing in front of the Goddamned window!"

            "Wow, Bright, I never knew you cussed," said a new voice.  Mirai had entered the kitchen, wearing a white blouse and black slacks.

            "It didn't take you very long to shower and dry your hair," stated Sayla.

            "I don't normally curse, but stupid Sayla here is being so annoying!"

            Sayla pouted.  "I was not!"

            "Were too!"

            Mirai rolled her eyes. "Stop acting like children."

            Bright stopped immediately, embarrssed, while Sayla suck out her tongue again.

            Mirai looked frustrated.  "You'd think that you were Kikka, Lets, and Kats."

            "She," said Bright, pointing his finger at Sayla, "decided to buy the whole grocery store."

            "I didn't buy the whole store!"

            "There you go again!"

            "Hey, guys! Stop it! I am sick of your bickering! For once in your lifetime, can't you two get along?" Mirai had had enough.

            Bright was astonished.  Mirai never got mad.  This must had been the first time in history he had ever seen her mad. Bright was always the one who had tempered outbursts. He started to say he was sorry, but Mirai cut him off.

            "Now both of you sit down at the table.  It's lunchtime."

            Bright and Sayla did as they were told and sat down at the table, while Mirai opened the refrigerator.  They heard her muttered something in Japanese, under her breath, that sounded like, "Watashi no Kami-sama."  Bright had picked up this phrase after hearding Mirai say it often.  Knowing the meaning, he gave a sly smile to Sayla, who in turn, frowned, confused.  Suddenly, she realized what it meant, and gave Bright a mean look. "Watashi no Kami-sama" meant, "Oh my God!"

            "You even bought Japanese food!" exclaimed Mirai, pulling a box out of the fridge.

            "I knew that you liked to cook, and I thought that you'd like to make Japanese food.  I even bought us some chopsticks." Sayla smiled sweetly, making Bright even more disgusted at her.

            "Now, 'getting along with each other' doesn't mean just sitting there giving each other dirty looks," said Mirai as she got out cooking supplies.

            "Then what are we supposed to do?" asked Bright.

            "Talk about something," answered Mirai, going back to the fridge to get food.

            "Like about?" asked Sayla.

            "Anything. I don't care, just try to act normal."

            "Okay," said Sayla, "Well, the weather is nice today."

            Bright nodded in agreement. "Yeah."

            "It's sunny today."

            "Yeah."

            Mirai tried not to laugh, but their conversation was SO STUPID! At least they were talking and not arguing.

            "The weather is actually pretty unusual for this time of year.  It normally is raining in January," said Bright, completely bored with this conversation.

            Sayla nodded her head, and stared out the window, again.

            "What is it about the window that intrigues you, Sayla?" asked Bright, this time trying to be polite.

            "I really don't know."

            Mirai turned around and placed three bowls on the table. Bright peered into one.  Inside was thick noodles.

            "What exactly is this called?" he asked.

            "Udon," Mirai answered as she searched for the chopsticks. "Where are--"

            "In the sliverware drawer," Sayla interrupted, knowing the question before it was asked.

            "And what does 'udon' mean?" asked Bright as Mirai handed him a pair of rough wooden chopsticks, the kind that you have to throw away.

            "'Wheat noddles'. I least I think that's what it means.  Because soba noodles are buckwheat, so yeah, udon noddles are wheat noodles," she said, sitting down at the table.

            Bright nodded and they started to eat.

            "So, do you like it?" Mirai asked him curiously.

            "It's very good.  I've never quite had anything thing like it," he answered.

            "Let me teach you some Japanese.  If someone asked you, 'Anata wa udon ga suki desu ka?' which means, 'Do you like udon?' you would say, 'Hai, udon ga suki desu' or simply 'Hai, suki desu."

            Bright gave her a confused look.

            "Fine, don't try to learn my native language," said Mirai, sarcastically.

            Bright was about to say that she didn't learn English just for him, and that he didn't understand why he needed to know Japanese. But Sayla gave him a look that told him that was a bad thing to say, and that he needed to try to speak it.

            "I need you to repeat it."

            "Okay, you say 'Hai, suki desu' when I say 'Anata wa udon ga suki desu ka?' Got it?"

            Bright tried to translate the sentence into English.  He knew that "hai" was yes. So if the question was "Do you like udon?" then he was going to say "Yes, I like it."

            "Anata wa udon suki ga desu ka?"

            "Hai...suki desu."

            Mirai smiled. "See, I knew you could do it!"

            Bright blushed.

            "But I noticed one thing. You speak Japanese with a British accent!"

            "My Spanish teacher always said that I spoke Spanish with accent," said Bright.

            "Was your Spanish teacher actually British?" asked Sayla, "Because if he was, you would have spoken Spanish the way he did-- with a British accent."

            "No, my Spanish teacher American."

            "¿Tú hablas español?" Mirai asked Bright, in Spanish.

            "Sí, yo hablo español," Bright answered, telling her that, yes, he spoke Spanish "¿Comó estás?" Bright asked how she was.

            "Yo estoy bien." Mirai said she was "good".

            "¿Bien? ¿No muy bien?"

            "Pues, ¡yo estoy muy bien!"

            "Je suis bien, et toi?" Sayla added, in French.

            "Je [something Bright didn't understand] françois!" Mirai snapped.

            "Ich bin--" Bright started in German, but decided this was getting a little out of hand. "I think we should switch back into English."

            Mirai and Sayla nodded in argeement. Mirai cleared the table and placed the dishes in the sink to wash.

            "Oh no, Mirai, I'll do the dishes!" exclaimed Sayla suddenly, "How about you and Bright go outside for a walk?"

            Mirai was a little wary about going outside after her last incident, but Bright took her hand and lead her outside, through the front door.

            "Let's just walk around the neighborhood," said Bright.  He knew what Sayla was doing: She was playing matchmaker. But Bright didn't care, because it was an excuse to be alone with Mirai.

            They walked hand-in-hand, but in silence.   They walked down the street and then back to the house.

            Mirai let go of Bright's hand and sat down on the bench in his front yard. Bright sat down beside her.

            "I don't want to go back to Side Six."

            "Then don't go back. It's your choice."

            "I want to stay here. With you."

            They leaned in, as if to kiss, but Mirai suddenly pulled away and looked up.

            "Someone is coming," she informed Bright.

            Taking the informantion Sayla had given him earlier and what Mirai just told him, Bright assumed that this might be one of their visitors.

            "Chikusho!" Mirai cursed under her breath, as a black car pulled into the driveway. The car stopped, and as Bright walked over to it, and man with brown hair, a long nose, and wearing a business suit and pointdexter glasses.

            "Cameron Bloom? Why are you here?" Bright asked.  This was the man that Bright detested.  Not that was anything wrong with Cameron.  Sure, he wasn't good looking, but he very smart and polite. But Cameron had done something subconsciously that cut Bright real deep.

            "Why, hello, Lieutenant Noah!" exclaimed Cameron.

            Bright struggled to be just as polite as his enemy. "Why do I have the pleasure of your presence?"

            "I heard that Mirai was visiting you. I've come to escort her back to Side 6. " Cameron looked over Bright's shoulder, trying to see Mirai, who was hiding behind the Brit.

            "Hi, Mirai," Cameron called.

            Mirai stepped out from behind Bright. "Hello, Cameron," she said coolly.

            Cameron hugged Mirai, his hand brushing her injured side, causing Mirai to flinch with pain. Bright knew that not only was Mirai in phyiscal pain, but she was also very uncomfortable having her ex-fiancè hug her.

            "Why don't we go inside," said Bright. Cameron released Mirai, and they went indoors.

            After they entered the house and went into the living room, Bright decided to be a stereotypic host and offered Cameron something to drink.

            "Oh, no thank.  Actually, I'd like to talk with you in private, Lieutenant Noah," said Cameron.

            Bright knew that their conversation was going to have something to do with Mirai, who was sitting on the couch and looking sad.

            "Let's go upstairs to my study," replied Bright, "We'll be back, Mirai."

            Mirai nodded and watched the two men climb up the stairs, as Sayla climbed down.

            "Why hello, Mr. Bloom," Sayla said, totally not surprised.

            "Good afternoon, Ensign Mass," Cameron greeted her.

            Bright lead Cameron to one of the guest rooms that he used as a study and library. He shut the door behind him.

            "Please sit down," said Bright, gesturing to one of the chairs by the small table, near the giant bookshelf that lined the walls. Bright sat down in his desk chair.

            "I want to take Mirai back home with me," said Cameron bluntly, after sitting down in the designated chair.

            "Then ask her if she wants to go with you," Bright said calmly.

            "I already know the answer to that."

            "Cameron, there is something about love that you don't quite understand.  If the person you love does not return the same feelings for you, then you must respect that.  You have to let her go."

            Cameron sighed.

            "Go ask her."

            "You have quite the harem," said Cameron, changing the subject.

            "What do you mean?" asked Bright, confused.

            "Not only is Mirai here, but so is Sayla Mass!"

            "Sayla is only staying here because she is friends with Mirai.  Sayla and I definitely do not get along. Now, go ask Mirai if she wants to back to Side Six with you."

            "Is something wrong with Mirai?"

            "What?" asked Bright, even though he knew what. He knew that Mirai wouldn't want him to tell Cameron what happened.

            "Was she injured?"

            "There was an accident," said Bright slowly, "If Mirai wants to talk about she will.  Now, go downstairs and talk with her."

            "You love her, don't you?"

            "Yes, I do.  And if Mirai wants to go with you, I would sent her my best wishes."

            Cameron nodded. "She loves you, not me. There is no need to ask her."

            "And how you do know that?"

            "It's obvious."

            "I still think that you need to talk with Mirai."

            "Fine, I will." And with that, Cameron exited the study and went downstairs.

            Mirai and Sayla had been channel surfing on the "telly." When Cameron entered the living room, Sayla took a hint, turned off the TV and when upstairs. As she reached the second story landing, she heard Cameron saying, "We need to talk." Sayla decided to go pester Bright, and headed for the study. She was about to barge in, but she choose to be polite for once in her life, and knocked on the door.

            "Come in," Bright called.

            "So?" asked Sayla.

            "I came this close--" said Bright, using his fingers to show about half an inch, --"this close, to kissing Mirai!"

            "And what stopped you?"

            "That damn Cameron!"

            "If Mirai could hear your foul mouth," said Sayla, rolling her eyes.

            "She pulled away because her Newtype abilities allowed her to know that he ex-fiancè was going to show up in about five seconds!"

            "So, what did he want?"

            "Oh, you know.  He wants to take Mirai back to Side Six with him!"

            "And we know how she feels about that."

            "He knows that I love her, and he says that it's obvious that she loves me!"

            "Well, Bright, it is obvious."

            "You were the one spying on us in the tree!"

            "I was there to save you guys from a psychopath!"

            As Bright and Sayla started aruging, as they always did, Mirai and Cameron were sitting in the living room.

            "What do you want to talk about?" asked Mirai, even though she knew what.

            Cameron drew in his breath. "Do you want to come back to Side Six with me?"

            "I'm sorry, Cameron, but--"

            "It's okay, Mirai.  I already know," Cameron interrupted.

            "I'm very sorry Cameron.  I thought that we had gone our separate ways.  I thought that we called off the engagement."

            "We did.  I'm sorry that I came to bother you."

            Mirai couldn't look Cameron in the eyes, so she looked at her feet.

            "Bright told me that there was some sort of accident.  Were you injured?"

            Mirai sighed. "Yes, I was hurt."

            "Are you okay?" asked Cameron, truly concerned.

            "I'm fine now."

            "Are you sure?"

            "Yes, I'm sure, Cameron, but it's nice to see you care."

            "What happened?" Cameron asked, although he didn't Mirai would want to tell him.

            "I really don't want to talk about it." Mirai looked up.

            Cameron remember what Bright had told him and decided to not to push it. Instead, he stood up. "Tell Bright good-bye for me.  You two make a cute couple." He headed for the door.

            Mirai scrambled up and followed him. "What? How do you know--"

            "I know you two are in love, Mirai," Cameron stated, cutting her off.

            "And you are okay with that?"

            "Bright told me that if the person I loved didn't return the same feelings, I need to let them go.  I'm letting you go, Mirai." He had his hand on the doorhandle.

            "Thank you, Cameron, for understanding."

            "I want to be invited to your wedding.  I hope you feel better soon, Mirai.  See you later!" Cameron opened the door and went outside, closing the door behind him as Mirai called, "Good-bye!"

            Bright and Sayla came down the stairs, aguring about something. Suddenly, Bright stopped.  "Where's Cameron?"

            "He left," Mirai said flaty.

            "He didn't even eat anything!" said Bright, directed to Sayla.

            "Fine, I'll go have a snack to make up for it," said Sayla sarcastically, and she went the kitchen.

            Bright went over to Mirai and put his arm around her. "What happened?"

            "He knew that I loved you."

            "I know, he told me, too."

            And for the first time since she and Cameron broke up, Mirai didn't feel guilty about falling in love with Bright.

That's the end for now!!! Chapter Nine is coming soon!! Please review and no flames!

~Lady Une-chan

PS: Because it is the future, the antibotics that Mirai took cause her to heal way faster than we normally do.