When You Meet Your Match

Chapter Eight

Tasuki woke up groggy and moaning. The sun pierced his eyes and he quickly shielded it with his hand. It took him a few minutes to actually open his eyes completely, and when he did, he moaned even louder.

It couldn't be more obvious that he had a hangover and a seriously painful headache. He didn't even remember much of last night, the last thing he remember was sitting down by the fire drinking lots of alcohol, and after that, very little.

He doesn't even know where he is, or how he got wherever here is, for he hasn't removed the hand in his eyes yet, so all he could actually see was the darkness of his palm. After about a minute of thinking of where he might be, he decided to find out by removing the hand from his eyes.

"What the hell!" he cried loudly and rose so fast that his headache seemed to double, and he groaned even louder.

Mayumi was in front of him, still sleeping soundly, unaware of his sudden outburst. His eyes opened wide at what could be the only possible explanation of just what exactly is going on here.

Did he and Mayumi just sleep together?

Tasuki frowned at Mayumi's face. He meant that in the literal sense, of course, but the thought of him sleeping with Mayumi was sending senses in his face. Luckily, no one could see him blush right now. Or the bulge that was forming in his pants.

The thought was good, but he couldn't remember exactly what happened last night. The last thing that he remembered about last night was when Mayumi went up to him and offered him some alcohol, and he readily took it, even shoving her out of the way for it.

Tasuki smirked at her, who was still sleeping. "I probably acted like a drunken fool huh?" he asked her, not expecting an answer.

"A first class fool."

Tasuki turned and there stood Kouji, arms at his waists grinning at him broadly and looking at Mayumi. "Haven't managed to wake her up yet, huh?"

"There's no need for that yet," said Tasuki, glaring at him slightly, "so how did I act last night."

"Like I said," he said, "A first class, grade A unlike no other fool."

"That bad?"

"Well," said Kouji thoughtfully, "she did drag you out from the table to make you stop rubbing your face in her pants."

"WHAT!" he felt her face pale and the bulge in his pants quickly ceased.

Kouji nodded, smiling a little. Mayumi stirred, but didn't wake up. "And then you fell on her fast asleep." he said, "that's why you're underneath this tree here, and that's where you two slept."

Tasuki groaned. The thought of him rubbing his face on her pants was annoying him to no end.

"You don't remember anything do you?"

Tasuki glared at him. "You think?"

"So you don't remember kissing her?"

Kouji had this irritating smirk in his face that grew even more irritating when he saw the look on Tasuki's face. It was a mixture of shock, surprise, and slight embarrassment. "I what!"

Kouji nodded. "Yep," he said, "you kissed her and kissed her good, then you fell asleep."

"I-I did?" his face was quickly getting cold.

"Oh yeah," said Kouji, nodding, "it must have been horrible."

Tasuki glared at him, trying to save the little pride that he had left. "What the hell gives you that idea?" he asked defiantly, arms crossed. "How the hell would you know?"

Kouji raised his arms. "I didn't mean it that way, Genrou," he said, "I just thought that you must have reeked bad. I mean, you still smell of alcohol, even now, and you smelled worse last night."

Tasuki looked at Mayumi.

"The fact that she actually put up with you the entire night smelling like that is amazing."

Tasuki then looked at Kouji, got out his fan, pointed it at a running scared screaming Kouji and shot out fire at him. "Get out of here you annoying son of a-"

But he was interrupted when Mayumi started to moan slightly, her closed eyes twitching slowly awake. Tasuki looked at her, watching her wake up. Tasuki looked at her and thought about what Kouji had told him. He didn't picture his kiss with Mayumi to be when he was drunk, when he pictured that moment, he remembered it.

"Hmm...Tasuki?" said Mayumi, groggily. He thought that he was probably the first thing that she saw today, and he wasn't sure if she felt that that was a good thing.

"Good morning," he said softly, a smile in his face. "Sleep well?"

Mayumi smiled, and nodded, stretching her arms to the side and rubbing her neck. "You?"

Tasuki nodded, and then took a deep breath. "Listen about last night," he began, Mayumi listening to him intently. "Whatever I did to you, good and especially bad, I didn't mean any of it, well at least the bad parts, the good parts we can say I meant, but the bad and horrible parts, I didn't mean to do that to you at all, I mean, I'm sorry I made you sleep in out here under a tree and I didn't mean to sleep in your lap, I'm really didn't mean that -"

Mayumi looked at him, her head tilted to the side, a rather amused smile in her pretty face. He hoped that kissing her was one of the good things that she regarded he did.

"Well, er, I didn't mean it," he finished lamely, not looking at her.

Mayumi looked at him and smiled. "That's okay, Tasuki," she said, "I didn't mind sleeping out here, it was actually kinda nice."

Tasuki looked at her. "Really?"

Mayumi nodded, still smiling. "It was a really cool night, and you're the perfect blanket."

Tasuki smirked, and looked at her curiously.

Mayumi laughed slightly, then suddenly looked at her necklace. Then her hand went to her mouth, as if she just remembered something. "Oh my..."

"What?" asked Tasuki worriedly. This was a sudden change in her attitude. "What? Is there something wrong?"

"What's the date today?" she asked rather sharply.

Tasuki told her.

Mayumi looked at Tasuki, and surprised him with tears in her eyes. "Today..."

"Today's what?" he asked, forced to stand rise as Mayumi, in a daze quickly stood up, still clutching her necklace. "Mayumi! Wait up!"

But Mayumi was already running, again, away from him.

Tasuki sat there, slightly confused. "Was it something I said?"