I love you, but….

(Aishiteru demo…)

Romance + General

Disclaimer:

I do not own any of the characters in this fic, Samurai Champloo, Minmi's song Shiki no uta, or anything that has to do with them just my ideas

Thank you once again and I'm sorry for the log wait. Finals and school is over so I now have more time to write and relax. I've been relaxing too much lately and the soaps are getting good, but now I'm back with the next chapter. Sorry it's a little short, the next will be longer I promise!

'monologue'

"dialogue"

/hikari to yami/

yami to hikari

Chapter three

Misunderstood

-Misunderstood: v. To get the wrong idea or wrong impression; misread

-Rebel: n. One who opposes authority

-Saint: n. A person of great purity

Mai POV

A red light danced across my eyelids and they fluttered open. If it wasn't for that light the living room would have been pitch black.

'My head hurts!'

I look around for the remote, but the upbeat song playing on the tv caught my attention. It was in Japanese and the one line that stood out the most was…

''..or .. ''

The song ended soon and the screen changed to some commercial. Before it changed I caught the words Samurai Champloo. I found the remote and turned it off. Something stirred underneath me. I switched on the light and groggily sat up.

'Keith! What is he doing here!'

"You bastard! Get out of my house!" I started hitting his chest, he jumped up.

"You crazy!"

"Right now I am! Waking up with you all comfy in my house on my couch…With Me!"

"You should be grateful it was only me." He growled then pushed me off him and walked out. Slamming the door behind him.

'What was he doing here?'

--Flashback--

The lights were flashing everywhere. Blues and greens and reds. My head was spinning and I stumbled around. I was looking for the bathroom, but got swept into the mass of people in the middle of the room. My body was swaying, but others probably thought because of the music. I saw Keith looking at me with an odd look on his face, then he walked over. I remember his words, " I know you better than this." The rest is black, a distant memory that only he knows.

--End of Flashback--

I laid down on the couch again, but I couldn't sleep. I got up and went into the bathroom, I didn't have to go I just wanted to move. I switched the light on and the first thing I saw was my own reflection in the mirror.

'I look this bad and Keith didn't even care?'

My makeup's smeared and there are blotches of color and bags around my eyes. Nothing had happened between me and Keith, but I still felt dirty. I felt like a tramp.

I smell like beer and cigarettes, I smell like trash.

I climb into the tub not bothering to take off my clothes and just sit there for a moment. Then I turn the water on. When it touches my ankles I begin to cry, not because it hurts, but because the coldness woke me up. Realization had kicked in and I knew why Otogi didn't love me. I wasn't good enough for him. He didn't like me because I was like this. My cousin's not going to be back for a week so I didn't have anybody to talk to.

I began to cry harder and pull at my hair.

'I'm not good enough for him…'

"I'm not good enough for you!"

My sobs grew violent and I sank down in the tub. A fuzzy shape was moving over the water. I wasn't alone. I sat up.

"Who did you sleep with tonight?" a voice asked.

It was Ishizu my longtime bestfriend. I wish, I had met her a few weeks ago and we had an unspoken understanding about each other's problems. She was the only one who knew how I felt about Otogi. And a sort of bond women get and need for support.

"Nobody." I muttered and she rolled her eyes.

So I continued, " But I woke up with Keith all snuggled under me and realized that I'm only good enough for him."

'A biker...'

'…in a biker gang…'

'…a leader called bandit Keith…'

Ishizu didn't laugh and for that I was grateful. She never laughed at me, she knew what I was going through. The man of my dreams was in love with a little girl named Shizuka and Ishizu's dream man was still in love with a girl who moved away named Kisara.

She turns off the water and pulls the plug.

"You're too out of it to take a bath tonight, but you can't sleep in the house like this."

She walked out and I rolled over.

'Then I'll sleep here.'

My eyes closed and everything faded away.

Ishizu POV

I grab a few towels and an old blanket and return to the bathroom. She's sleeping.

So I move slowly so I don't wake her she needs to rest more than anyone. I wrap the towels around her and the blanket goes under her head.

I walk out again and return with a blanket for me and a pillow. I roll it out on the floor and lay down. I can't leave her here like this she needs me and I need her. People say we're opposites, but in truth we're exactly alike. We both are women struggling to be accepted by someone who doesn't care and even if they knew they wouldn't care. Thoughts about this and about fate swirled in my head until I fell into a restless sleep.

--Next Morning--

When I woke up Mai was still in the tub. I heard voices.

'Or at least I think I did?'

A loud shriek woke Mai up and she stared at me half-comprehending. Another voice laughed.

'Probably at the other person's expense.'

The bathroom door opened and my brother walked in. Whenever I wasn't home he always knew where to find me. I don't understand why he feels the need to hunt me down. I'm his big sister. I don't stalk him around the city.

He just looked at us in our odd situation.

"I'll spare you the humiliation and I won't ask."

He grabbed a band-aid and walked out closing the door behind him.

I looked at Mai and she laughed. I only smiled, but I was happy too grateful that we didn't have to explain. That would mean admitting to a lot of personal information to someone who really didn't need to know. Someone who's other half would then share that business with many others who didn't need to know.

I heard the front door close and the noise ceased. It sounded like he had a party in Mai's house. I didn't feel like getting up. It would look like a tornado ran through her house and every room they went in.

That was too much stress first thing in the morning. I lay back down. And closed my eyes trying to shut out images of what we would have to clean and fix up. I heard Mai shuffle around in the tub and then settle and knew she felt the same way.

--End of Chapter 3--

That song Shiki no uta is the best. It's the ending song for samurai Champloo. Can't wait for Soul Calibur III….

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TAII