The couples seperated into seperate vehicles to meet for breakfast. Tasuki had claimed she would need to return to the dorms and get a few things after breakfast if she was to spend the weekend at Miaka and Taka's, having jumped at the chance to be with Chichiri all weekend. Chichiri had volunteered to run her back to the dorms after breakfast as he had to teach one class that day about noon. That would give her time to finish her homework as well.
The ride over to the restraunt started out quiet at first, Tasuki once again looking out the window at her surroundings. Chichiri kept giving her small glances as he drove but said nothing.
Tasuki was not sure how the thought came to her, but she suddenly yelped. "Hey!"
Chichiri jumped slightly but settled back in his seat and gave her a quick, alarmed glance. "What is it, no da?"
She turned and smiled at him. "Have you noticed that our Japanese is accented? The Seishi Seven and Miaka's? I had wondered on it. We all have accents from Konan." Chichiri cast another glance at her and smiled at her triumphant look. Truthfully he had never really noticed that, but now that she had pointed it out, it was definately true.
"Do you have a Konan accent when you speak English, no da?" She turned to look at him, mouth open for a moment and then turned away, but not before he caught her blush.
"Why do you blush, no da?" He was curious now. "It was just a simple question, no da."
She shook her head "No, my konan accent only shows in my Japanese and Chinese." Chichiri nodded "Well, Genrou did not know English, so that is probably the reason, no da." She gave a nod and looked at a small restraunt as they pulled up and smiled with a wave at her friends standing waiting for them.
Chichiri watched her talk with their friends, he had missed Tasuki, and it wasn't until now that he realized how jealous and lonely he really had felt before she had been found. Granted she was not in the form he had dreamed about, but to have that familiar ki so close to him was enough to show him that this truely was his love.
The conversation was interrupted by a very different ring on a cell phone. Chichiri had never heard it before. However, Tasuki gave a yelp and pulled a cell phone out of her pocket and groaned at the number she saw there. "Excuse me." With that she pushed back from the table and rose as she answered the phone.
The others heard her greet the person in English before she got out of range.
Tasuki let a groan escape when she saw the familiar number. 'Oh, Suzaku. How could my mother give him my number here?' She excused herself from her friends and then pushed away as she answered the call and spoke. "Hello?"
She already knew who it was, Dennis. The man was annoying. He had been in her German class and had fallen for her. No matter what she had done to discourage him, he never gave up. Then he had met her mother. Her darling mother had seemed to think this courteous young man was just what her daughter needed to become a woman and settle down. She had forever been pushing them together. She resigned herself to the fate of having to deal with this man. She knew from experience that if she didn't answer on the first call he would insistantly call back repeatedly until she answered her phone.
"Hello, my sweet buttercup." was the first thing she heard.
It caused her to growl into the receiver. "I am not your sweet buttercup, Dennis. I'm not even yours. Never have been, never will be. What the hell do you want and why the fuck are you calling me?"
As usual he was determined to ignore her bad manners. "Well, my darling. I just hadn't heard from you all week and wanted to know if you were well. I was very surprised when you didn't call me after you arrived in Tokyo. Is the jet lag still making you sleepy? You should be resting, I wouldn't want my darling to be sick and tired in a strange country. I wish you would have stayed in New Mexico, we could have gone to NMSU-A together and I could have taken care of you..." He continued to talk, but by this point Tasuki was no longer listening. Truthfully the phone wasn't even to her ear anymore. She was counting slowly. First in English, then Japanese then 3 different chinese dialects and then in Spanish. When she realized she was still upset she counted in German and French as well.
She put the phone back to her ear only to hear "... so will you marry me when you get back to the United States at the end of the semester?"
She lost it.
Chichiri and the others watched her walk outside and speak into the phone. Chiri watched the spikes of her ki as the person she was talking too obviously was irritating her. The others watched her aggitated movements and blinked in surprise when she put the phone down and started to mumble under her breath, taking deep breathe's. When she appeared a bit calmer, she put the phone back to her ear and almost immediately had a very shocked look on her face.
Then her ki burned bright red and flared like a fire cracker. Chichiri was out of his seat in an instant and to the door. As soon as it opened they all heard her shouting into the phone, her accent swiftly going from almost non existant to deep southwestern, like from an old wild west movie. She didn't seem to realize she was doing it either.
"...DON'T FUCKIN CARE WHO YOU ARE AND IF MY FUCKIN MOTHER LIKES YA. IF SHE LIKES YA THAT FUCKIN MUCH THEN LET HER MARRY YOUR SORRY ASS, YOU STUPID MOTHER FUCKA. I SWEAR I HAVE HAD ABOUT ENOUGH OF YOUR DAMN THICKHEADEDNESS. I REFUSE TO MARRY YOU, YOU ARE NOT MY TYPE, I AM NOT YOUR DARLING, I AM NOT YOUR BUTTERCUP AND I NEVER WILL BE."
By now her face was red and Chichiri yelped and grabbed the phone from her hands and Taka came up and held her back as she went for Chichiri and her phone, still screaming, now cursing Taka as well as the man on the phone. "Let me go, damn it Obake-chan. I'm going to leap thrugh that phone and tear his head off and then yours, Tama, for interfering." The blue headed man stepped back from her and Taka and spoken in formal english. "Hello?"
A stunned male voice responded in kind. "Hello. Who is this?"
Chichiri immediately didn't like the grating voice of the fellow. "I am Houjun. What did you do to Gen-chan to upset her so much?"
The man responded that he had asked her to marry him, but apparently she was not thinking correctly and the jet lag must be getting to her cause she turned him down. Chichiri was quiet for a moment and the man's voice sounded again "Are you there man? Is she calm now so I can talk to her?"
Chichiri looked up at the barely restrained fury in his love's eyes before he spoke again. "I'm sorry, but I don't think that is a wise idea. She doesn't seem to want to accept your proposal and trust me, she is not suffering from jet lag."
The man on the other end spoke up, impatience in his voice. "Listen man, I don't know who you think you are, but put my fiancee back on the line. I swear, you better keep your hands off of her or I" click
Chichiri hung up the phone and then turned it off completely. He looked up into Tasuki's eyes and smiled. "Well, you have a fiancee, no da?"
He was only have joking and her reaction was just as he hoped it would be. "IS THAT WHAT THAT FUCKER TOLD YOU? I SWEAR, THAT FUCKIN' RETARD CAN'T GET IT THROUGH HI" her voice trailed off when Chichiri leaned in and kissed her.
Taka squeeked and let her go with the smallest of pushes towards Chichiri and bolted back inside to the others.
A few moments later, Tasuki was staring with stary eyes at Chichiri, the reason he had kissed her in the first place completely forgotten. He was staring down into her flushed face and handed her back the phone. "I just wanted to make sure. To know you didn't have someone waiting back home for you, no da." She shook her head "No, I don't have anyone. You are the only one for me and were even before I got my memories back, no da." The last bit said with an impish grin that caused Chichiri to smile at her use of his catch phrase. "Good, no da."
With that he lead her back into the restraunt to finish breakfast.
The rest of the weekend sped by, spent wrapped up in his arms at night and catching up with her friends during the day. Monday night, alone in her bed at the dorms was lonely and Tasuki layed there for a long time wishing she could fall asleep. Tomorrow was Tuesday and she would be able to see Chichiri again. This semester was going to kill her, no da. With these thoughts she drifted off to sleep.
First period, Chichiri's, found her gazing at him for about five minutes before she realized that she was going to have to earn this credit and the other and not use the excuse that he was distracting her. Besides if he could teach a class, or two, with her in it, then she could pass them after all. She dilegently began to take notes on her laptop, as did a few other students and she looked up at one point, having been completely engrossed in the discussion around her to look at him and then gave a quick fanged smile as their eyes met. She returned to her note taking.
Chichiri could have wept. Thank Suzaku that Tasuki was taking his classes seriously. He had seen her spaced look at the start of class and didn't want to have to spend their precious time on the weekends tutoring her so she could pass his class. He wouldn't have let her fail, but he didn't want to favor her either. However within ten minutes of staring she had began to take notes and participate a little in the discussion.
Toward the end of class he was starting to enjoy the discussion and when she gave the fanged smile and then responded quite passionately about something just a moment later, he slipped. "That is a very good point Smith-san, no da." He stopped in shock for half a second and then pulled his scattered thoughts together and also complimented the other students for their insight. His gaze hit her for a minute to see her staring at him, and he knew she had caught his slip, even if no one else had. At least he hadn't called her Tasuki. Oh Suzaku, this was harder then it looked, no da.
Class was over and she hung back, taking a little extra time to pack her laptop and textbook into her bag, hoping to talk to Chichiri. She looked up and realized that she was the last student and she approached him. "Ri-sensei. Thank you for letting me catch up on last weeks class." She waited for him to turn and smile down at her. "It was alright, Smith-san, no da. I understood completely."
He looked around very swiftly and then switched to an ancient form of Chinese, his voice low. "I am sorry, I will try better to catch my slip in the future, no da." She smiled at him, her eyes sparkling up at him and she responded in kind, "At least you didn't call me Tasuki, Chichiri. Don't worry about it, we will just have to be extra careful it would seem." She switched back to Japanese. "Great discussion today, by the way. I am not use to that kind of class participation in the United States. I hope my note taking was adequate today, as I didn't want to miss a moment of the discussion." She smiled at him and put her back pack on. "I'll see you on Friday, no da." She gave him a swift wave and walked from the building, heading to lunch to sit with Chiriko.
Chichiri gave a small sigh as he watched her walk out, his eyes dropping for a moment to watch her butt before he caught himself. Definately going to have to watch that here.
The weeks flowed, Chichiri and Tasuki performing what was becoming an ever increasing difficult performance as their weekend meetings grew more and more steamy. With the minimum of discussions, Tasuki had gone on birth control and had given herself fully to Chichiri a month later. A month had passed since then and Tasuki was getting very frustrated with her love.
It was fast approaching the end of November and she knew that her mother wanted her home for Christmas and New Years, but she had yet to discuss anything with Miaka and the other Seishi, especially Chichiri.
He was definately starting to confuse her. Since they had started their physical relationship again he had grown more distant in almost all aspects of their contact. He no longer called on her to answer questions in class, although he always graded her papers fairly and she did very well in his class. He seemed to have pulled back into himself and Tasuki got the idea that he would be wearing that damn mask of his if he could again. The only time that he really made her feel special anymore was at night on their weekends. During those short hours, he would hold her, love her. Make her feel feminine, although she would never admit it. Then he would hold her till she fell asleep and she always awoke within his warm embrace.
It just wasn't enough though. She wanted her Chichiri back, the one from when she had been a bandit. She knew he worried for his job and she had requested that she transfer to another class for next semester. She claimed that the discussions in his class went by so fast that she had problems keeping up and had heard the other class was a bit slower in their discussions. The administration had agreed to this, and she would start the next semester with a new teacher. She really hoped that this would help him with whatever his problems were.
It was now Thursday, her mother had given her a deadline of Saturday if she was going to be going home for christmas and she still hadn't responded.
Tasuki exitted the office, having changed her schedule for next semester and went towards Chichiri's office, to tell him of the change. She felt a bit of doubt that she had not discussed it with him first, but there really had been no time and she had to get that schedule change in today for it to take place. She hoped he would be in there.
Chichiri was sitting at his desk, grading papers when he felt someone enter the room and sighed to himself silently when a fellow teacher walked in. Her name was Kaoru and she had been coming on to him lately and hiding it less and less each time. He didn't know how many times it would take for her to get it through her head that he just wasn't interested in her. He looked up as she sat on the edge of his desk. "Yes Umito-san?"
"Oh, Houjun, I was just thinking that you need a date for the staff dinner coming up and so do I, so I think you should invite me." He sighed to himself. He should have seen it coming, truthfully. He wasn't going to the dinner, as he would not be able to take the one he wanted, so he just didn't want to go.
"I'm sorry, Umito-san, but I have plans that night that were made before the dinner was announced, so I will not be attending." He hoped that this would get her to back off. Nope.
"Oh, Houjun, don't you think you could cancel them? I just don't want to go alone and thought you could take me..." her voice died off with his shaking head. "I'm sorry, I can not cancel my previous plans. You should ask Yukimora to take you, I'm sure he would be delighted."
She however was not to be determined. "Oh no, I don't want to go with him, just you." When he began to shake his head again she decided enough of this and grabbed his chin and planted her lips on him.
Chichiri sat in shock for all of half a moment and then placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed her away as a shocked gasp came to his ears. He turned with growing dread to the door and saw Tasuki standing there, shock and dismay on her face, but all of that was over ridden by the deep pain and hurt in her eyes as she took two steps back. The other teacher looked back at the American student with indifference and a bit of irritation. How dare this child interrupt them.
Tasuki stared in shock at the sight of her Chichiri kissing another woman and watched as he put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her away. She didn't really see the disgust on his face, all she saw was betrayal. Her Chichiri had ... She took a few steps back when the other teacher turned around and glared at her. She had never met this woman, although had seen her a few times. The intruding teacher stood and walked from the room, calling over her shoulder to Chichiri as she went. "I will be expecting you at 7. Don't be late." She gave a final smirk to Tasuki as she walked past her and out the door.
Chichiri stared after the other teacher and then his eyes darted to Tasuki's pale face. With a quick motion, the door of his room slammed shut and she rounded on it, checking the handle. He knew that he couldn't let her escape, or she would be lost to him completely. He had to make her understand.
"Tasuki?"
She turned around, tears slipping down her cheeks. "Is that why? Is that why you have been treating me the way you have? I thought you had waited for me, Chiri. Is it that once you found me, I was not enough for you anymore? How could you?"
She turned and tried the door again,flinching and drawing back when she felt him approach. "I didn't kiss her, she kissed me." Tasuki looked up into his face, every stubborn molecule in her body showing it's nature in her stance. "What was that 'pick me up at 7' crap then, huh? How could ya fuckin' do this to me, Chichiri?" She was yelling at him now and he stood there, watching her and took it all. He didn't know how to explain. If only he had sat her down and explained how difficult it was for him to hold his side up. To not call her Tasuki out in class, to have to switch from indifferent teacher to lover on the weekend was tearing at him. All he wanted to do was be able to approach her in the hallway and kiss her, but he couldn't and it was eatting at him.
He opened his mouth to tell her all this when she cut him off. "Sorry, Chichiri, please let me out." He blinked at the cold tone in her voice and felt like his heart was being ripped from his chest when she turned from him. Even when he reached out to touch her, he got no response. She had completely cut him off.
With a sigh he unlocked the door and she left quickly. He watched her leave, knowing the conversation would have to wait till the next night which was Friday before he could talk to her.
He did not expect her to miss her class and then refuse to go to Miaka's over the weekend. A week passed and she attended his classes, but she took notes, kept herself over her laptop and did not even try to participate in the discussion. Another week went by and he was shocked to find out how thin she had become when he got close to her.
Miaka sat in silence as she listened to what had happened. She had been pestering Chichiri to find out why Tasuki was avoiding them, thinking it was something she had done to the former bandit, only to find out that some woman had thrown herself at the monk and Tasuki had seen it all. Taka had agreed with Chichiri's description of the woman. She made passes at all the younger male teachers and Miaka fought back the temptation to beat this woman to a pulp when Taka admitted her coming on to him at one point. She trusted her Taka though. However, this woman had come between two of her Seishi and one of them was very hot headed and stubborn. This required a woman's touch now.
Tasuki looked up from her open suitcase towards the door when there was a knock. With a sigh she placed the folded shirt that she was holding in the case and closed it, walking to the door. It really didn't surprise her when she found Miaka there, knowing her Miko would seek her out eventually. "Hello, Miaka."
Her friend smiled to her, but it quickly fled her face when she saw the suitcase. "Are you leaving, Gen-chan?" Tasuki just smiled slightly and let her friend come into the room. "Don't call me Gen-chan. It doesn't feel right coming from you. I'm going back to New Mexico. I leave this evening."
She opened it back up and continued to pack. Miaka found herself watching helplessly, her mind blank. Chichiri's distressed face popped into her mind "What about Chichiri? Does he know you are leaving?"
She watched the transformation take over her friend and almost blanched at the dead look in Tasuki's eyes when she replied "I don't think he cares all that much anymore, especially about me." Miaka studied her friend, seeing that Chiri had been correct in his impression that Tasuki had lost weight. She knew she might be the only one to get through to her hotheaded warrior.
"Please don't let that horrible woman destroy your relationship with Chichiri, Tasuki. She comes on to all young male teachers here. She even came on to Mitsukake and my Taka. Chichiri hates her. Don't let her break you two up."
Tasuki had stopped packing to look at her friend. Miaka almost cried at the pain in her eyes. "I figured when I saw that same woman hitting on my math teacher. However, it doesn't change anything. Chichiri had already left me before that incident." She began to explain his behavior to Miaka as she finished her packing and sat down on the bed. She told her of her feelings of abandonment by the former monk and how he only showed her affection at night, when they were alone.
Miaka opened her mouth to tell Tasuki that she was mistaken, that it was all in her imagination when she stopped, a memory from a few weeks back coming to the fore. She had found it very strange that Tasuki and Chichiri had been sitting at different ends of the table while they had dined out and how Chichiri had not really even directed any conversation towards his bandit the whole evening.
Tasuki watched Miaka's face and realized she had seen it also. "I just can't deal with that anymore, Miaka. I will be back next semester and maybe we can work out a schedule to see you, because I have missed the rest of you so much, but I can't deal with Chichiri anymore. I love him so much and I always will, I know that. But apparently he is not ready for this relationship and unless he realizes that there are ways around our current dilemma that don't involve ignoring me right out, I just can't be around him. It hurts too much."
With that, Tasuki looked at the time and grabbed her heavy jacket and the grabbed a large shopping bag with wrapped gifts and handed them to Miaka. "I had planned to pass these to Taka to give to you all, but I'll just give them to you. Christmas gifts. I will see you when I return. They are all clearly labelled." She hugged the befused Miaka and grabbed her bag and made her way downstairs to the waiting cab that had just pulled up to take her to the airport.
Just before she got into the taxi, she looked up and saw a shock of blue hair, the man who was crushing her heart was watching her intently. Without knowing why, she raised one hand in a farewell wave and climbed in, not looking back, completely missing the destroyed look on her love's face as he watched her leave.
Miaka saw it though. She moved slowly to Chichiri's side and took in the pain on his face. He glanced down at her, not bothering to mask his misery from his Miko and then to Taka, who took the present bag from his wife and shot a glance at the taxi as it turned the corner and was out of sight. "Let's go home."