Author's Note: If any of you are wondering why all the updates, all of a sudden... It's because I just got a job where I do a lot of sitting and not a lot of working and Solitaire can only be amusing for so long. ;; So I've taken my fanfics to work with me. Hopefully, I'll be able to get more stories finished this way. I hope more people will read and review!

"Akio and Juri: Based On a True Story"

Chapter Four

By Angel Sentier and Pandari

Of all the places Akio might have brought her, Juri was not expecting the girls' bathroom. But there they stood, in front of the pink door, and the art deco girl in the triangle skirt glued over the word "Women" watched them accusingly.

Warily, Juri glanced at the smiling man at her side. "What are we doing here?"

He turned that little boy smile on her like a sprinkler. "I've always wanted to steal something out of the girls' bathroom. Want to?"

She blinked, but shrugged. "Why the hell not?"

They entered.

For a moment, Akio merely stood and gaped. When he saw her confused expression, he shrugged self-consciously. "I've never seen the inside of a women's bathroom before. I once heard it referred to as the 'ladies lounge' and thought to myself, 'what the heck have they got in there?' To be honest, I'm a little disappointed. I was expecting things like a sofa, a big-screen TV, and colored water in the toilets... IS there colored water in the toilets?"

Juri, for about the third time that night, had to resist the urge to laugh at Akio's odd statements. For someone who always seemed so unruffled and cool, for lack of a better word, he certainly had an odd sense of humor. "Unfortunately, no. Although that would be pretty neat."

He then went to the sink and pressed on the soap dispenser, leaving a blob of pink goo on the counter. "I wanted to make sure they got the right kind of soap in here. I order all the soap, along with everything else for this school. Pink for the girls and blue for the boys."

"Why?"

"I didn't want boys having to wash their hands with pink soap. So I got manly colored soap."

"That's pretty sexist. I doubt any of the boys even look at the soap they use, if they use it at all."

"Well, I notice. And that's fairly disgusting." He grimaced, then his face once again relaxed into that easy smile as he readjusted the red Touga rose behind her ear. "I just think that girls should always be surrounded by things that are beautiful and feminine."

Her chin lifted a notch. "You probably think I should be more ladylike." She'd heard the same sentiment from her family often enough, with her interest in fencing and dislike of dresses.

"Not at all," he said, surprising her once more. "You may not be the stereotypical female, Juri, but you have an elegance that is all your own. In a way, that makes you more like a lady than most, who merely seek to copy what they think is appropriate. To you, it comes naturally."

Juri wasn't sure what to make of his compliment. It wasn't until he touched her cheek with the backs of his fingers that she realized how warm her face was. Annoyed, she turned away from him, muttering, "Curse blushing. Curse the noun, curse the verb, curse the act!"

He chuckled. "I wouldn't curse it too much. You're beautiful when you blush."

"I'm not buying it. When I blush, my face clashes with my hair."

He only smiled. "Whatever you say."

They inspected the pictures on the walls of the bathroom, only to discover they were bolted to the walls. Neither of them really wanted the pictures anyway. They were odd, disjointed images of a nude man, with the important parts conveniently missing. A man with suspiciously green hair, but Juri made no mention of this. She did, however, feel sorry for the artist.

Casting about for something they could conceivably steal, Juri's gaze lit upon a non-bolted down tissue box. It was quite an ordinary cream-colored box with one-ply tissues, but she handed it to Akio.

"Your prize, sir."

"Perfect." He examined the box, tossed it into the air, and caught it. "I'll keep it as a memento of tonight."

"I don't think I need a souvenir to remind me. This night has been odd enough."

"Has it? Enjoyable, too, I hope."

She hesitated slightly, but it was true that the evening had been rather fun. "I... have managed to forget my... love life, or lack thereof, for a while, thanks to you."

He smiled. "The night's not over yet."

This time, he didn't wait for her to follow. Taking her slim hand in his, he pulled her with him across the school grounds.

To be continued...