Kijou felt like snarling.  She didn't, because snarling caused unpleasing wrinkles in her otherwise perfect skin, but the desire was there all the same.  Katsu was intelligent and interesting and attractive and what the hell was wrong with him?!

Nothing … but … but …

"But" was a very uncertain word.  Kijou hated it.  Everything was going exactly as planned with Katsu, except that it wasn't.  If things had been going exactly as they should have, Katsu would have been hers months ago.  As it was, she was barely sure of her grip on him.  Not that she'd admit that to anyone.

Kijou glared – not at anything in particular, just a general, garden-variety, eat-shit-and-die glare – and stalked around her room.  Katsu was proving stubbornly his own person, and it frustrated her.  If she could only get Katsu to depend on her for a few days, then she'd have him for life … but at the rate things were going, a few hours would be a miracle.

She caught a glimpse of her face in a mirror (a very expensive import from England, probably one of maybe ten of it's like in Tokyo), and frowned at it. Then, seeing the unsightly furrows this formed, she smoothed he expression, and spent the nest few minutes looking at her face from all angles.  When she was done, Kijou pursed her lips in grim satisfaction.  For once, her own reflection brought her very little pleasure – not when it failed to work on Katsu like it had every other young male she had met.  That thought stayed in her mind, souring until, eventually, her control broke and Kijou snarled at her reflection, flinging out her hands and narrowly missing breaking the precious glass.  She flounced over to the expensive, Western-style chair in her room and – gracefully – flopped on it. 

How, how, how on Earth could she get Katsu to slip for those crucial few days?  She slumped further down into the soft, high chair, and pondered the possible ways she could get what she wanted.

How?

*************************************

Hmm.  You know what?  I'm going to stop even trying to promise some semblance of schedule for this.  I'll work on it as hard as I can until I'm caught up, or until I'm finished.  As I'm not even sure how far behind I am anymore, it'll more likely be the latter.  And actually, you're lucky you got this.  I had to write it twice, as my computer is a piece of shit and randomly freezes, sometimes RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF SAVING THIS $%^*$ THING!

Anyways.  Hey – at least it was longer than a third of a page.  ¾, actually, if I'm getting my measurements right.  There are only a handful of chapters left in the flashback (thank GOD), so that's one thing to look forward to.

Kuroiyousei: :P

Lychee2: Yes … and "at the time."  This flashback thing seemed like a good idea "at the time" too.  ;)

blah: I'll have you know that belt represents years of pain and improvement.  Don't diss the belt.  I luv the belt.  After the flashback, I'm hoping to get more into the Saitou/Sano part of this … but you never know, really.

Sunrise (& Sunset): um … that's uh … well … it's good to see you have friends … scary as they may be … ^_^  I'm glad you like this, and I will try to update more often … but no promises.  I'd rather not make them than break them.