Saturday: Part 2

"If you really want to get it right, you have to wash the rice three times."

"Are you kidding? Three times? Who the heck actually washes it three times?"

"Pretty much everybody."

I had the kitchen prepped and ready for our cooking endeavors. Remembering Makoto's rule–no knives–I sliced the vegetables and ham before allowing Usagi to even set foot in the kitchen. The ingredients were organized logically by steps to make this as straightforward as possible and to hopefully prevent any major disasters.

Usagi stood scowling at the sink, washing the rice dutifully.

"That's good. Now we can put it in the rice cooker." I instructed her how to use the machine, pointing out the essential buttons and the timer. "Okay, ready to move onto the eggs?"

"Yes." Her jaw was set and her eyes were determined. She was all business.

"Do you know how to crack an egg?"

Annoyance flickered in her fiery eyes. "Yes, I know how to crack an egg," she snapped.

"Okay, okay," I held up my hands in defense. "Go ahead then. We're going to use three per omelette."

I watched in amusement as Usagi pushed up her sleeves before timidly taking hold of the first egg.

Crack

The egg now lay shattered on the tile, spilling its contents onto the kitchen floor.

"Oops."

"That's okay, just try it again." I had been expecting this and already had a towel on hand to clean up the mess. "And don't drop it this time."

Tap tap tap

This time she was successful, emptying the egg cleanly into the bowl. A wave of pride rippled through me. She followed with another two eggs.

"Good. Now add a splash of milk and whisk it together with your chopsticks."

Anticipating that she would probably dump in way too much, I placed my hand over hers on the milk carton to guide her. What I didn't anticipate, however, was her reaction to my touch. Her whole body tensed and she lost her hold on the milk. It fell to the counter and began emptying itself rapidly.

"Oh no! I'm so sorry! I told you this wasn't a good idea," she wailed.

I righted the carton and cleaned up the milk with another towel, silently praising myself for setting out a whole stack in preparation for such a time as this.

"Oh come on," I teased. "It's no use crying over spilled milk."

When no response came, I checked her expression. Her head was buried in her hands, crimson cheeks peeking through between her fingers.

"I think you should finish this without my help," she mumbled.

"Sorry, but you're not getting off that easily, Odango."

After a few more attempts and a surprising amount of time, we finally had two omelettes before us, each on a bed of rice. Usagi was a sight to behold, hair tied back in a single, sloppy bun, loose strands clinging to her face, dried egg caked on her arms, and a few stray grains of rice scattered in her bangs. Without thinking, I stretched out my hand and brushed them away.

Usagi was perfectly still beneath my touch, watching me with wide eyes.

"Seriously, how did you manage to get rice in your hair, Odango-Atama?" I smirked.

"I don't know how these things happen to me. They just do."

We stood there for a moment, quietly observing each other. She took a quick intake of breath, effectively breaking the spell that had fallen over us. Lifting her fork, she exclaimed, "Well, itadakimasu!"


"Ohhh, that was sooo gooooood," she moaned. I suppressed a grin at the sound of her pleasure. "I can't believe I actually made that!"

"And with all your fingers still attached, too."

She pouted briefly before a thought occurred to her and her eyes lit up with excitement.

"What did Motoki pack us for dessert?"

She popped up from her seat at the bar and raced to the kitchen in search of the styrofoam package. She was becoming quite comfortable here, apparently, rooting through my fridge as if it were her own. And for some reason, I loved seeing her that way. The view of her bending over in that short dress of hers was just an added bonus.

"Ah-ha!" she shouted triumphantly, raising the box in the air and turning around. She lifted the lid and revealed four perfectly plump and ripe strawberries tucked around a small package of melting chocolate. "Oh my goodness! We're making chocolate covered strawberries, too?" Her eyes twinkled.

"Looks like it."

That devil. Motoki knew chocolate covered strawberries were a favorite of both Usagi's and mine. Not to mention the sexy implications held by the sumptuous dessert. Aphrodisiacs and all that. I wondered what my textbook would have to say about that.

We set to work once again, although this dish was much easier to prepare. With the chocolate melted and wax paper set out, we were ready to dip.

"You want to hold it just below the leaves, like this," I guided her hand. "That way, if the leaves break, you won't lose the whole strawberry in the–"

I was cut short as chocolate splattered across my cheek and chin.

"–chocolate."

The strawberry had slipped out of her hand and was now slowly sinking in the bowl of warm chocolate. She gasped and checked my expression, her eyes alight with concern. When they found my face, however, she burst into a fit of giggles.

"What?" She was almost doubled over now, arms wrapped around her midsection.

"You should–see your–face–Mamo!" she struggled between bursts of laughter.

"Do I have something on my face?" I asked innocently.

She pulled herself together. "Just a little..." a sly smile spread across her lips. "Right here..."

She reached up with a single finger and caressed my cheek. I held perfectly still, enjoying the tiny tingles dancing down my spine. She pulled her hand away and stared down at the chocolate on her fingertip. My eyes went wide as she brought it to her lips and tentatively tasted it with her tongue.

Oh, God, this woman is going to kill me.

"Yummy!" she cupped her cheeks in sheer bliss.

Knock knock knock

I visibly jumped, startling Usagi.

"I'll get it," I said, and strode to the door. I definitely needed a distraction from the tiny woman in my kitchen.

When I opened the door, though, I came face to face with another tiny woman, this one with short, blue hair.

"Ami?"

"Mamoru-san." She bowed slightly. "Is Usagi-chan here?"

"Ami-chaaaaan!" Usagi bounded over to her friend and threw her arms around her neck. "Ami-chan, what are you doing here?"

"I looked for you at the Crown after my exam today. Motoki-san told me you were staying with Mamoru-san." She looked nervously between the two of us.

"Why don't you come in," I offered casually, motioning to the living room. This was good, actually. A witness to the fact that nothing indecent was taking place.

"Thank you."

She bowed respectfully and the three of us took our seats, Usagi beside her friend on the sofa and myself in the armchair. The strawberries remained in the kitchen, forgotten for the moment.

"How was your exam, Ami-chan? Are you worried about the results?" Usagi was always so considerate of her friends.

"Oh no, I'm confident that I did well. That's not why I'm here." She dug into her purse and retrieved a small, white paper bag. "I actually came by to bring you this."

"What is it?" Usagi accepted the bag and peeked inside.

"It's medicine," Ami replied. "From my mother. There's a terrible stomach virus going around Juuban right now. Mako-chan had it yesterday. That's why she missed school. I called your house to see how you were feeling, but when no one answered, I got worried about you."

Ami was a good friend.

"Aw, you're so sweet, Ami-chan!" Usagi beamed at her friend, a slight blush on her cheeks. "But I'm really okay. I haven't been sick at all." She extended her arm, bag dangling from her fingertips, trying to return the medicine.

Ami held up her hands and shook her head. "You should hold onto it, just in case you...or Mamoru-san..." she eyed me suspiciously, "end up needing it." As she surveyed me, her expression shifted. "You know, Usagi-chan, I'm going to stay tonight and tomorrow at Mako-chan's now that my exam is finished. You're welcome to join us."

Something lurched inside my chest. True, it was a serious hindrance having Usagi here. I couldn't freely research my dream girl with her around, or get much studying done for that matter. Even still, for some inexplicable reason, I didn't want to see her go. But I knew that relocating to her friend's home was the logical and prudent decision. I silently resigned myself to the fact that our extended weekend was about to be cut short.

This time it was Usagi's turn to shake her head.

"No no, that's okay, Ami-chan. I actually just got settled here and Mamoru and I made plans for tomorrow already." We did? "But thank you for the offer!"

I stared at her blankly, dumbfounded. She just turned down her best friend to stay here with me? Perhaps she didn't hate me as much as I thought. Surely Ami would protest, though. She was far too intelligent to let her young friend needlessly spend so much time alone in a grown man's apartment. You're barely an adult, you creep.

But she merely shrugged. "Okay, Usagi-chan, if you're sure." She rose to her feet and headed to the door. I followed suit. "But please, don't hesitate to call if you need anything." She gave me a pointed look. "Either of you." What was that supposed to mean?

"Will do!" Usagi flashed a killer smile and offered an enthusiastic wave from her place on the couch. "Thanks again, Ami-chan!"

"Bye, Usagi! Mamoru-san. Oh, by the way, you have something on your face." And with one final bow, she disappeared out the door and I closed it behind her, wiping the remaining chocolate from my cheek.

I just couldn't help myself. I had to ask.

"Why didn't you go with your friends?" I filled the empty space Ami had left on the sofa beside Usagi.

She gave me a pointed look that I couldn't quite figure out. "They don't really want me there. Ami-chan was just being nice." She rolled her eyes.

"Why not?"

She looked at me incredulously before shaking her head.

"You really are dense, aren't you, Mamoru-baka?"

"What are you talking about, Odango?"

"Trust me when I tell you that Ami and Mako want to be alone." She dropped her pitch at the last word and raised her eyebrows at me.

"Oh. Oh!" I didn't know that about them. But now, looking back at our previous interactions, I guess all the signs were there. The two girls always sat next to each other in the booth. Sometimes I saw just the two of them eating together without the others. Makoto also seemed to be especially protective of Ami, walking her home every night, but never offering the service to the other girls.

"Wait a minute. I thought Makoto liked Motoki?"

"Oh, she does," Usagi stated matter-of-factly. "She just likes Ami-chan more." She stood and placed her hand on her hips. "Now are we going to finish those strawberries, or what?"


I was pretending to watch the tv, but I couldn't help but steal sideways glances at Usagi as she bit into her strawberries. I licked my lips instinctively as I watched hers close around the delectable fruit, her tongue occasionally darting out to retrieve the chocolate morsels at the corner of her mouth. What I wouldn't give to be the one cleaning her lips right now.

"Oh, come on!" Usagi shouted at the television and I came crashing back to reality. "Not every little thing was the work of aliens," she mocked.

At Usagi's request, we were back on the science channel. Although it appeared that at prime time, it was the speculation channel.

I had to agree. "This show is pretty ridiculous. Would you like to try something else?"

"No," she sighed, switching off the tv. There's nothing good anyway. I'll probably just read."

That was actually a good idea. I had been ignoring my studies all day. Go figure. Maybe I would have a few minutes of peace and quiet to finish reading the chapter on neurotransmitters. We each gathered our books and sat back down, myself at the desk and Usagi curled on the couch.

"...chemicals that communicate with neighboring cells. Target cells must be close enough to permit paracrines to reach target cells by diffusion. For example, cytokines are released mainly by white blood cells and function in the immune system. Cytokines usually travel only a short distance by diffusion but may travel further in the body through the bloodstream. Cytokines include interleukins and interferons. Another example is histamine which is released by mast cells and triggers a local inflammatory response."

This was hopeless. I glowered at the ink of the page, willing it to form coherent words. Even though she was being quiet, I couldn't focus with Usagi in the same room as me. I raked my hand through my hair anxiously before pushing up from the desk. A hand in my pocket, acting casual, I sauntered behind Usagi, hoping to catch her at some particularly steamy point in her manga and tease her mercilessly. As I examined the pages beneath her slender fingers, I was surprised to find a massive wall of text.

"Jane Eyre? You're reading Jane Eyre?" I was bewildered.

She whirled around and glared at me, insulted. "What, you think I'm only capable of reading manga? I do have a brain, you know." She buried her nose back into the book.

"No, it's not that." I leaned my hip against the arm rest to get a closer look. "It's just so dark and gothic. I didn't think you would be interested in that.

"Yeah, well, I'm interested in lots of things." Her gaze shot up at me from behind the pages before quickly averting back again.

"But you must hate Mr. Rochester. Don't you find him..." I searched for the words she had used before. "Dull? Isn't his soul completely sucked dry of all fun?"

She shook her head vehemently. "No way! Don't you remember when he dressed up as the gypsy woman and told everyone's fortunes? He's such a tease! And he sure did let that stupid Blanche have it, too." She giggled. "And he has so much fun with Jane. If anything, she's the one that's too reserved."

I disagreed. "Jane is full of beautiful dreams. She's just protecting them out of insecurity."

"But that's exactly the problem! Rochester loves her so much that he would risk anything to be with her. His reputation, his life, even his soul!" She exclaimed.

"So you don't think he's too old and grumpy?" I teased.

"Not at all! That's part of his charm. He's so tortured, only Jane can warm his heart and make him smile. I think it's sooo romantic." She hugged her book to her chest and sighed. I couldn't help but smile back.

"Say that reminds me, what plans do we have for tomorrow?" I watched as a blush crept up the back of her neck behind her tiny tendrils of hair.

"Oh, I did say that to Ami, didn't I?"

"You mean you aren't taking me on a date?"

Her pink flush turned to dark crimson and she continued staring down at her book, refusing to turn and face me.

"You wish."

It was unconvincing.

"That's too bad. And I was so hoping we could go check out the carnival." I pushed off from the couch and headed to the kitchen, pouring myself another cup of coffee.

"The carnival? Really?" In an instant she was beside me, tugging on my sleeve. "I actually really do want to go back! I didn't get to go on any rides," she whined.

"Just promise you won't throw up on me and we can go."

She held one hand over her heart and held two fingers up with the other. "I promise!"


The room was dark and cold, made entirely of stone, the only light a single moonbeam shining through a window above me, illuminating the bare back of the beauty beside me, the only source of warmth. She lay on her stomach next to me on the narrow bed, her face turned in the opposite direction. A forest of golden curls tumbled down from her head and danced lazily across her silken skin in the frigid breeze. I watched, mesmerized, as it raised goosebumps on her flesh. She shivered.

I reached out to her instinctively and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her back to rest against the bare skin of my chest for warmth. The slight frame of her supple body fit against mine perfectly, like two puzzle pieces snapping into place.

This was it. If I could just get her to turn around, I would finally know who she was.

Tap tap tap

A muted woman's voice called out from behind a heavy, wooden door.

"Serenity? Are you sleeping?"

Serenity? Is that your name?

She stiffened in my arms and then sprang from the bed. "My sister," she uttered. "We must not be found out."

Suddenly I was in the darkness as she threw the blanket over my head.

"Serenity? Is someone there with you?"

We bustled about simultaneously, me attempting to free myself from my woolen prison, she apparently hunting for a robe. When I emerged, dark, velvet folds now draped elegantly around her curves, billowing gently. She hastily plaited her hair into a loose braid.

"If they find you here, they will-"

"Sister?" The door creaked ajar and candlelight spilled into the chamber, illuminating her silhouette. She began to turn.

"Mamoru..?"

I awoke with a start from a hot breath and my name in my ear. My body jolted upright of its own volition and my forehead immediately slammed into a wall.

"Damn it!" I fumed, clutching my forehead.

I almost saw Her!

"Owieee..." the wall moaned.

I open my eyes to discover Usagi, leaning over me, hand to her own head, mirroring my position.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" I was furious. "Do you not remember the first rule of your being allowed to stay here? Are you that stupid?" Not only had Odango-Atama completely ruined my possibly only chance to discover the identity of my dream girl, but she was also responsible for the relentless throbbing in my skull.

My biting words were met with silence.

"Well?" I demanded.

Her hand slid down from her forehead and rapidly wiped at her eyes. She was trying to hide her tears from me, but one escaped, a single drop rolling down her cheek, exposing her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean..." In the blink of an eye she had turned, preparing for a speedy exit. I reacted just as quickly, grasping her wrist before she had the chance to dash out of my room. She froze, but didn't face me.

"I'm sorry, Usagi. That was uncalled for."

She remained still, rooted to the spot.

I took a deep breath, steadying my nerves and forcing my anger to recede.

"Your not stupid," I insisted.

Her shoulders drooped.

"I didn't mean to hurt you," she whispered.

The broken notes of her voice struck sharply into my chest like shards of glass and I was instantaneously disarmed.

"I know, Usagi. It's okay. I was just having an...agitating dream. I'm sorry I raised my voice at you." No response. "I'm sure you had a good reason for coming to me."

She finally turned and met my gaze. Tears still brimmed in her eyes, but began to retreat as she found the honesty in my face.

"I guess you could say I was having an 'agitating dream,' too." She performed a poor attempt at a smile, but it fell quickly, along with her gaze. "More like terrifying, actually."

Before my brain registered what my body was doing, I had pulled Usagi down into my embrace, and I found myself in a very similar position to the one I had previously been enjoying in my dream just moments before. Only this time, it was real, and the effect was intensified ten times over. I contoured my embrace to the shape of her tiny body, her back to my chest, desperately wanting to protect her from whatever images plagued her mind. The aroma of her strawberry shampoo still lingered in her hair and drifted into my nostrils, perfectly intoxicating. I could hold her forever. And I was amazed she was allowing me to hold her this intimately.

"Do you want to tell me about it?" I murmured into her hair.

"I don't remember very much," she sniffled. I tightened my hold around her. "But I was in the middle of some kind of war, I think. Someone was chasing me. Trying to kill me. There were people dying everywhere. And I think someone was trying to protect me, but then he was gone, and I saw his blood on my hands..." she shuddered.

"Shhh, shhh, it's okay." I laid my cheek against the top of her head. "You're safe now."

We stayed that way for several minutes, waiting for her breathing to return to normal. Something about her nightmare resonated with me. It was very similar to something I had seen in my own dream the night before. But that had to be just a coincidence. There was no way that Usagi was experiencing the same dreams that I was. Right?

Carefully, she rolled over so that we were nose to nose. We had never been this close before. I began to feel a familiar, tingling electricity occupy the mere inches between our bodies. Ever so slowly, that space began to disappear and her chest came to rest against mine. Her velvet fingers slid up my neck and wound themselves into my hair, sending a shiver down my spine. Never in a million years did I predict Usagi would instigate a moment like this with me.

"Mamo-chan," she whispered, and that was all it took.

I brought my lips down to meet hers and the sensation that overcame me was unreal. I had kissed many women before, but never had it felt like this. The second our lips connected, my entire body came alive. I was hyper aware of every touch, every sound, every breath. My hands found their way to her waist and I pulled her in closer, drinking her in and marveling in her delicious taste.

Her fingers knotted in my hair and she pulled me down harder, crushing my mouth to hers. I couldn't get enough of her.

Gently, my tongue ventured to taste the edge of her lips, and they parted, welcoming me. I deepened the kiss and moved my hands up to her hair and jaw, angling her face to my preference. She let me take control but continued to meet my every move with matched urgency. Tantalizing fingertips crawled beneath my shirt and spread across my chest. Suddenly her leg was over my hip and I cupped my hand around her thigh for better leverage as any remaining space disappeared between us.

The moment continued to escalate, our mouths and hands exploring every exposed inch of each other, until she brought her hands to rest on my chest once more and gingerly forced me back. We laid there, panting and gasping, still tangled up in each other. Her crystal eyes gazed up at me and I dared not look away, completely transfixed by the moonlit goddess. Finally she spoke.

"Mamo-chan, what... I mean, how..." she trailed off, unable to formulate her emotions into words. But I understood exactly.

I cupped her cheek in my hand and stroked her reassuringly, my thumb grazing over her swollen lips. Smiling tenderly at the angel in my arms, I attempted to articulate what we were both feeling.

"I know, Usako." A blush spread across her cheeks at her new nickname and I adored her openly for a moment before quickly kissing the tip of her nose. "You're not crazy. I feel it too."

She buried her face in my chest and nuzzled up under my chin. I just held her, appreciating the moment, until without warning, her entire body tensed and she pulled away from me.

"Mamo-chan..." She pushed herself upright and her hand flew over her mouth. From behind her fingers, she murmured, "I think I'm going to be sick."