Disclaimer - I do not own Fushigi Yuugi or any of its characters. Fushigi Yuugi belongs to Yuu Watase and respective companies.

Chapter 3 – The Dinner

After classes were over, there were no bullies out nor any Tamahome to rescue anyone. She walked to her own apartment lonely and silently. She unlocked her apartment door, opened it and walked in. She was immediately greeted with the darkness and despair of a lonely home. Turning on the light, she felt better. She closed the door and took off her shoes. She walked into the living room, sat down on floor, brought out her books from her overloaded backpack and prepared to study. Just as she was getting started, there was a knock at the door.

Wondering who it could be, Miaka got to her feet, ran to the door, and opened it. Standing before her was a strange, orange-haired man holding a plastic container. She recognized him immediately. "Tasuki!"

"Hey Miaka," the orange-haired man greeted. He held the container out to her. "Here. I brought you some udon from work. I know it is your favorite."

Smiling and glad that someone is thinking of her, she happily accepted his gift of food. "Would you like to come in and share it?"

"It's okay, I already ate some at work," he politely declined, secretly wanting to say. He lived in an apartment a few doors away from her, and has secretly been in love with Miaka ever since she talked to him for the first time. Despite his bad-boy appearance, he had no courage to tell her how he feels about her. He wouldn't hesitate to fight a man three times his size, but he couldn't confess to a girl – and he hated himself for it. "You go ahead and eat."

"Thank you Tasuki."

Tasuki blushed, suddenly at a loss for words. Slightly embarrassed and red as a tomato, he turned and began the walk to his apartment.

Miaka thought Tasuki was a kind guy. Whenever he had the opportunity, he would bring her food from where he works. He was the type of guy that her mother told her never to get involved with. He had tattoos, dyed hair, and most importantly... a motorcycle. Nonetheless, he was friendly and kind to her. Tasuki is the type of person she couldn't help but like.

She watched him walk away from her apartment, shut the door and settled back down to eat and study.

The next day, Miaka woke up late. After getting ready for school and running to campus, she didn't have time to stop by the cafeteria to see if Tamahome was there.

Little did Miaka know that Tamahome sat in the cafeteria, wondering if he would get the chance to see her. He had noticed her watching him on Monday, but he was used to it. He had noticed many other girls looking at him countless times before. But for some reason, when he saw the two men giving her a hard time, he couldn't help himself. Before he had the chance to think about it, he had already knocked the men out and had his hand out to her. He supposed that she was hanging around him because she felt guilty about treating him so badly afterwards.

Breaking out of his thoughts of the read-haired girl, he turned his attention to his laptop to concentrate on completing his essay. However, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get the girl out of his mind. He was beginning to hope that she would come into the cafeteria so he could see her. Tamahome originally agreed to go to dinner with her because he wanted a free meal. However, that doesn't seem to be the case as of late. He was beginning to look forward to their dinner together.

The rest of the week went by at a snail's pace, and Miaka was so excited when Saturday afternoon came. She was looking forward to it, ans was happy when she found the perfect dinner to take him to. It was a nice place, and very quiet.

Forgetting about the place for the time being, she focused on what she should wear. She went to her small, over-crowded walk-in closet. She studied the clothing she owned, trying to pick something. After many changes and glances in the mirror, she felt she found the perfect outfit – an ankle length white skirt and a white long-sleeved v-neck shirt.

She took a shower, put her hair up in a normal pony-tail, dressed and walked to her closet once again. This time, she was looking for a pair of shoes that would look nice with her current attire. She had rows and rows of shoes, but always had trouble of finding a pair to wear. After much thought, she settled on a pair of sandals with white straps. Their destination wasn't too fancy nor too cheap, so she thought she should be dressed okay.

Not long after she was dressed and ready, it was 6:00pm, and Tamahome was right on time. There was a strong knock at the door, and she ran to open it. As she expected, it was Tamahome, and he looked better than she had ever seen him. He wore slightly baggy blue jeans, white shoes and a gray shirt with a brand name printed on the front of it. He wasn't overdressed, or under dressed for their destination. He looked perfect.

"So, have you decided where we are going for dinner?" Tamahome asked.

"Yeah!" She exclaimed, obviously excited about the dinner. "It's a really good place that a friend of mine works at. It isn't far either; we can even walk there!"

Tamahome was happy that she was so excited about the simple dinner. He thought that she looked cuter when she smiled. Thats why he spent hours in front of his wardrobe earlier; he was determined to look nice so she would smile when she saw him – and it worked. Tamahome knew that he was beginning to like her, he was beginning to wait for her ever morning in the cafeteria.

"Shall we go now?" Tamahome asked.

"Sure!" She exclaimed, not able to control her excitement.

Tamahome watched as she grabbed her handbag and locked her door. They began their short stroll to the restaurant. They talked about their classes and what they enjoy doing. There were many girls in the past who have approached him, and he agreed to many dates, but Miaka was the only one that he found himself sincerely interested in.

He intently listened to what she had to say with interest. Before he knew it, they were standing in front of an udon shop.

"This is the place," Miaka commented.

"It looks nice," Tamahome told her. "Let's go in."

Throughout dinner, they continued to talk. Miaka kept the conversation going, which was fine with Tamahome; he wasn't much of a talker and preferred to listen to others.

With their stomach's full, they walked out of the udon shop together. As Tamahome's eyes adjusted to the darkness outside, he noticed a orange-haired guy getting onto a sliver Suzuki sportbike. To Tamahome's surprise, he waved toward them with a goofy grin on his face. Tamahome looked at Miaka only to find her waving back to the strange guy. Obviously noticing Tamahome's questioning expression, Miaka explained. "That's Tasuki. He lives in my apartment complex, and he works at this udon shop."

From the appearance of the guy she called Tasuki, Tamahome secretly thought that he was up to no good. Being the fighter that he is, Tamahome had fought with many different types of people, and Tasuki's type have been many of them. However, he trusted Miaka's judgment and decided to trust the guy.

With a few steps, Tasuki walked over to them. "I didn't see you inside," Miaka told him.

He smiled and apologized to her. Tasuki shot a death glare in Tamahome's direction, and he immediately understood. Tasuki was in love with Miaka and didn't want anyone to get close to her. Oblivious to the look Tasuki gave Tamahome, Miaka introduced them to each other.

Ignoring the jealous attitude of Tasuki, Tamahome stuck his hand out to shake hands and said, "Nice to meet you." To Tamahome's surprise, the hot-tempered motorcyclist extended a hand to meet his. They shook hands, all the while Tasuki looked like he wanted to kill Tamahome. Tamahome ignored it, and just smiled at him.

Miaka sensed the odd behavior of Tasuki and didn't understand why he was acting the way he was. Normally, he's a very cool and understanding guy, but tonight he was acting strange. She couldn't help but wonder what was the matter with him. Miaka made a mental note to herself to ask him what was wrong the next time she saw him. But for now, she was out with Tamahome. She waved to him while saying, "I'll see you later, Tasuki!"

As he usually did, Tasuki blushed as he watched walk away from him. The orange-haired guy stood on the sidewalk in front of the udon shop and vowed to himself that he would prevent Tamahome from getting any closer to Miaka. Tasuki had secretly loved her for mother, and didn't want anyone to take her away from him.

Completely oblivious to Tasuki's love for her, Miaka walked with Tamahome back to her apartment where they met up at. Though, Miaka really didn't want to part with her current companion. She began to walk slower, hoping that she could spend more time with him that way. He was great, fun, attractive, and there was nothing she wanted more than to just be by his side.

Tamahome noticed Miaka's shift in pace, so he slowed his pace to match hers. It didn't bother him at all – he enjoyed Miaka's company. He remembered that she lived alone and wondered how lonely she must get. Tamahome thought for a minute and came to a conclusion. "Miaka, I have some place to show you. Will you come with me?"

"Sure!" Miaka exclaimed without any hesitation. She was just excited that she was going to spend more time with him. Tamahome smiled at her excitement, and began to walk to his vehicle. He had parked it at her apartments, with intentions of driving to the restaurant.

"Its a little far, so we will have to go by automobile. Is that okay?" Tamahome asked.

Miaka thought for a minute while she contemplated if he was trustworthy or not. She decided to trust him and agreed.