"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 2

When Yamato first explained to Mei the different greetings of kisses, he had honestly not known that she needed to be cultured in the art of Japanese love. Or that she wanted new adult conversation. She was very good at avoiding all forms of the love topic, to whatever ends of subtly he hinted. He was robustly pursuing her and tried to leave no room for dispute when others questioned his choice. He felt encouraged, one day, when he discovered her wordsmithing prowess.

Regularly, during those tedious university's classroom subjects, he realized she enjoyed the game of shiritori. So long as he agreed to modify the rules of the game – to embrace the sounds of other languages, the game was fun for her. For instance, Yamato would say "koibito" to test her language skills, and she would work "tomato" or some other foreign word into the game. At first, it was all sorts of confusion. Nobody else would play the game with him while she was trying to hear the linguistic utterances of his home language. He'd declared it when she wasn't around one time. He used shiritori to teach Mei how to hear Japanese and she introduced other language sounds into the mix just to force him to understand. He was super proud when Mei announced to him that she could factually hear the language; she just did not know anything he was speaking.

Progress.

Rubbing the square spot between his eyes, he looked up just in time to eavesdrop on a short conversation between her and his roommate – a foreign language point, wherein she effectively hushed a disputed squabble.

Yamato considered that other Japanese might be offended, but wasn't certain, because he wasn't. The expressions she made on her face were always interesting when she was learning and teaching various language nuances. He was taking notice of her accomplishments, even though they didn't turn out to be quite what he imagined, from her occasionally socially stinted classroom outbursts.

Ruminating, he listened to her warm, soft voice.

"Mei?" he glanced in her direction.

She looked up at him, her eyes glistening with what appeared to be mischief. He looked away to face the blackboard. The professor was still seated with other students. How much time did he have? All he could make out was the terse silence between his roommate and her.

He tried again.

She signaled his roommate once more. What was going on?

"Ya hachu potzelovat' tebya."

"Huh?"

His friend was edgy. What on earth did she just say?

"It's okay, really, if you don't know today. I just wanted to see if you could hear a little Russian."

"Is Russian your first language?"

"Nope," she rushed to explain, "By default it's my second, but by a technicality, it's really my fourth."

Nothing unusual there, he figured. But his roommate grimaced and said, "I'll tell you later," while she was vigorously shaking her head 'no' at them both.

Yamato continued his inquiry.

"What languages have you studied?"

She was breathlessly beautiful today – and he wanted her badly. He knew that she knew it, too.

"English is first – wait, does it matter how much and why?"

He glanced at her and nodded once. She understood perfectly in that moment.

"Alright. English, French, Spanish, Russian and Chinese Mandarin – all in respective order."

And now, Mei was consciously adding Japanese into the storage of memory, he noted. She was counting them all on her fingers.

God, she was painfully beautiful – and confident – and smart, he thought, staring back at the blackboard. His heart throbbed and he nearly lost his Adam's apple while swallowing – had he really stared at her cleavage? Mei seemed not to notice his inner struggle. He would not grope her in class. He would not grope her in class… He would not – He strained to keep his hands off her. In good time, he figured, she would come around. Wouldn't she?

She failed to give him the purpose behind learning each of her chosen courses, but language requirements at the university were not a true requirement, in any case, unless she planned to use them for her major. He would make inquiries and ask her later about her decisions.

In the meantime, Yamato's roommate was clicking his tongue in some sort of disapproval. He noted that Mei was effective with her statements. Even though she had been polite enough, there seemed a warning not to intrude or interfere. If they all were going to be friends, or at least company together, he wanted to know…

He wanted to enjoy his friendships, even as he wanted Mei to adore him exclusively. He knew she would be gloriously loyal once deciding once and for all that they were meant to be together – without a doubt, he was certain.

*~~~oOo~~~*