"Blind Sided"

~Jasmine-Fields-1979~

I Disclaim: I do not own the copyrights or trademarks of the respective authors, artists, and television programming of any Manga or Anime. Please note, with respect, that the images I use are clipped from open source images discovered on the Internet, with exception to photos pertaining to my own image and any business branding about my employers past and present.

Chapter 1

Yamato loved Mei first. He knew he did, although he never suspected the reason for it. He even told her as much. He had worked, with difficulty, to be transparent in all his affections toward her.

But, Mei was a socially difficult girl, on even her best days. She minded her manners, minded her family and attended to business a little too well.

Who would understand her duties and responsibilities better than friends in her corner? Mei, though quiet, was not shy. Yamato had seen her around her peers, and damn – sometimes, her tongue was sharp, lashing out at people who would care for her, if she had a mind to care for them in return. It hurt, sometimes, to hear the rumors but realized, perhaps, she had a hard life. Afterall, Mei seemed prepared on the defensive during their group outings. And school – well, school was meant to be a place of safe learning. He supposed.

Yamato considered her in all things, and even asked how she felt about his own budding career plans. He was far more experienced in social graces than she, he determined on his own. Through the general loneliness and depression – real and raw surrounding her, not many people tried to celebrate anything with her. She seemed to pace out her seeming missions with him. Did she have a secret life that nobody knew anything about?

Mei, though hardly a liar, tended to stay with her own thoughts. He could see the frown on her pouty lips in all his observations. Her smile, though rare, was bright – and her laugh, he loved her laughter best.

One day, she had asked him to find out some information for her. Apparently, it was not a question at all. Mei had been deliberately avoiding him, without regard to his feelings, but since they had not spoken in several days, Yamato happily obliged her request.

The nature of her inquiry was awkward, however. He was in a strange social situation when she asked him to pay a "nice girl" – apparently one nicer than her – some funds in order to discover something about an alleged friend she knew. The goal of getting this "nice girl" in on the action was to try to deceive or deter some perceived action Mei wanted. Therefore, when Megumi stepped on the scene, it was a perfect opportunity to do as she requested while making his own inquiries.

Although Yamato did what Mei wanted, he felt that there was too much time involved in trying to court the individuals of Megumi's modeling agency to get what was desired. Mei did not give him a time frame to work with – or deadline on when she needed the information. She'd only requested, in their one class together, "the sooner, the better." What on earth was Mei fishing for? He did not understand how doing this errand would best suit them. Was she testing his loyalty to her?

"No," she had said with conviction, when he asked. When he looked into her eyes, he realized there must be some inner turmoil going on.

"Then, why?"

"I have friends who want to know."

Looking away, he glanced up, knowing that there was something going on outside of school that he quite possibly didn't comprehend about her situation. He sighed. She was in duress whenever she explained this. And that was that. She didn't offer any additional meaning or attempt to help him to know more. It was almost as though there was expectation that he would help her. But from who? Her – or her estranged friends? Was she okay? She only reported her one stalker to him. Perhaps there were others in the shadows? Could that be right?

The stories in Japan always painted their relationship as being set on the backdrop of a high school scene, but the reality was that he was a man – in college abroad – and she was a very beautiful woman in college that knew her own mind. He hadn't known Mei that long, but his spirit stirred whenever he saw her. There really was something familiar about her. To Yamato, this was obvious, but she didn't know him, except when she discussed her language studies with him.

His jaw ticked. She stopped talking and arched an eyebrow at him.

"What do you want to know?" she asked, as though reading his true thoughts.

They were only in class twice a week together. He'd originally thought Mei was younger but after asking, Yamato discovered she was closer to his age – 27.

So, she was a late bloomer, he surmised. Apparently, asking about her love life was okay in school; however, she seemed strained when explaining who was who, on one hand, in her life. He could handle her hesitancy. But this only exasperated his thoughts ticking inside his mind. She told him, openly, about her sex partners, but veered away from answering questions about her ex or their own relationship. Yamato knew he could get Mei to open-up about that too, but whenever the subject came up, her nose flared outward – an attempt to gain control of her more depressed feelings on the subject.

Huh. He wondered if she still loved her ex.

His mind was driving in circles. There was no connection made whenever he hovered over Mei's feelings and tried to derive her deeper input so he could know her heart on the matter of anything she revealed.

"Sometimes," she began, "I go blind – literally, whenever my friends show up. They don't want to be seen, most of the time. And that's how we prefer it."

He cleared his throat. Perhaps her depression led to some schizophrenia?

"It's not like that."

It was Yamato's turn to raise an eyebrow at her. Was he right? Had he voiced his thoughts aloud? God, he hoped not. This would only complicate their relationship.

"Well, tell me, what is it like, then?"

"Sometimes, they give me a medicine or something that causes me blindness. Then they deliver the message they want me to give you."

"Who does?" He really, truly wanted to understand.

"I told you about my previous job, didn't I?"

Yes, she had. It was a touchy subject, too. She had been around very violent men. They had been in the military academy and found Mei had a talent for talking creatively with a high aptitude in the study of language.

That is all he knew coming from her.

Yamato frowned. He needed to investigate this on his own, but her records were not made public on the internet.

~~~oOo~~~