Asuka.

- 1 -

You've got to be kidding me.

I stared into the fridge. This could not happen.

The contents? Cucumbers, lettuce and tomatoes. Perfect ingredients for sandwiches. And I've had nothing but vegetarian sandwiches for the past three days.

And on the top section of the fridge, there laid a huge jar of rich, creamy, white sauce. I gulped, staring at it with dread.

Mayonnaise. The one true sin of mankind. And yet my Japanese roommates seemed awfully fond of it. I slammed the fridge shut and quickly pushed my back against it. I couldn't believe this was happening to me.

My stomach grumbled in complaint. Must have meat, must have meat, must have meat, must have meat! The monster of hunger inside of me was driving me neurotic. I was desperate, I'd do anything for meat. Meat, my stomach growled, want meat, must have meat!

Suddenly, a wicked yet brilliant idea began to form inside of my head.

Meat, huh? I replied to my restless stomach, Oh yes, we do have meat.

I put on my brightest and friendliest smile ever, and tip-toed into the living room.

"Oh~ PenPen?" I called sweetly, "PenPen~? Where are you?"

The door swung open, and the penguin emerged from the steamy bathroom, with a blue towel hanging from his shoulders. He walked carelessly into the living room.

"Hello, PenPen," I smiled at him secretively, "Good... penguin."

PenPen turned its head to look at me, and seemed to recognize the evil intentions directed towards him. A sweat drop began to form on his forehead. There was terror in his eyes.

* * *

I sat down on the kitchen chair with a sigh of relief. I licked my lips, then rubbed my stomach with a smile of gratification on my face. The blue towel was still sprawled in middle of the living room.

Soon I was joined by Shinji. He was feeling a bit differently though, with a piece of blood-stained tissue paper stuffed up his nostrils. He slumped down onto the chair at the other side of the table, and looked into his wallet, defeated.

"Asuka... promise me you'll never do it again."

"What?" I responded nonchalantly.

"You know what I mean," he said quietly, "You know... try to eat PenPen."

"Try to eat PenPen?!" I cried in pretend exasperation, "I would never do a thing like that!"

"You tied him up, and lodged him on the cutting board," he said as-a-matter-of-factly.

"We were just playing," I answered and crossed my arms in annoyance, "The simple affection between humans and animals. A numbskull like you would never understand."

Shinji pointed to his face, "You punched me in the nose."

"That's because you were... touching me," I replied. Actually, he was trying to wrestle away the cutting knife from my hands.

"Touching you! I... I.." Shinji flushed and stuttered in frustration.

I held up a hand, "Forget about it. We'll call it evens, since you treated me to dinner buffet." I stood up and walked toward my room, "Good night." I shut the door behind me before the boy could say anything.

I was feeling a little bit better. I'm normally a nice person, unless when it comes to three things: food, sleep, and men. I sat down, leaning against the door, trying to figure out something to do. Unlike the Incredible Shinji, I can't just sit down anywhere and start introspecting.

I fished out a small, black case from the closet. It was my violin, I hadn't touched it in a while. I blew a breath of air at the case, blasting off the small film of dust collected on the surface.

I ran my hand along the texture of the case. Kaji bought me this case, I smiled at the thought of Kaji. But my smile turned bitter when I tried to remember what he looked like.

A wave of coldness ran through my body. I closed my eyes and tried again. His hair, and his form was all familiar to me. But his face... I couldn't. A blur... smudged... like water color paint. His smile! I used to love his smile so much. How could I...?

Asuka, have you forgotten me? the faceless Kaji was saying.

How heartless.

I ran to my closet and rummaged through the jungle of hanging clothes. I was cold, so cold. Where are you? My hands grabbed random articles of clothing and tossed them on the floor. I can't find it, I felt panic spilling out of me. I know you're in here. But where are you? WHERE ARE YOU??

A long, yellow-tinted shirt came into view. That's it. You've found me. I gasped, grabbed the shirt and embraced it tightly. The scent, it was coming back to me. The mixed scent of cologne, aftershave and cigarettes. The smell of Kaji. I almost thought that he was here with me.

Slowly and carefully, I slid my arms into the sleeves of the shirt. It was a little oversized, but I didn't care. I grasped the collars firmly with my hands, for fear that the warmth and love that was surrounding me might sudden escape without notice.

I brought Kaji to bed, and never did let him go for the rest of the night.