Chapter Seven
It was past sundown by the time the escort arrived to take Najya and Washu to their dinner engagement, and they found themselves led into a private wing of the palace, where a well-furnished dining room was situated at the end of a long, brightly decorated corridor. At the head of the table, presiding, was the Lady Aiko herself, and Washu found she liked the woman on sight, for she exuded energy and mischief from every pore. On her right hand side was her enigmatic son, who acknowledged their arrival with warm smiles and kind words, and as the two scientists were ushered into her seats, Washu realised the final chair - at Aiko's left hand - was empty.
"Mikamo is never very good about punctuality...not when he's working in the lab." Aiko said lightly, amusement in her ruby eyes as she caught Washu's surprised glance. "He gets carried away with his work all too often, sometimes. But then I'm sure you understand that, being scientific yourself."
"Yes, I suppose we do." Washu recovered herself, offering the Princess a rueful smile. "But fortunately our work hasn't begun yet, so we're all yours."
Aiko let out a peal of pretty laughter, nodding her head.
"I'm always curious to meet Kagato's scientists, even if I never have any idea what they're working on." She admitted. "My son has always been far too clever for his own good - but far too tied to Jurai, in some respects. I've always indulged him in his desire for scientific research - after all, as a Prince of Jurai, he can't exactly get involved at the Academy itself."
"I'm sure they wouldn't know what to do with me, Mother." Kagato observed smoothly, though humour danced in his golden eyes at his companion's appraisal. "You over-rate my abilities, as usual."
"What else is your mother supposed to do?" Aiko bantered back. "You always under-rate them so badly, it's my duty to put the record straight."
Najya smiled.
"We've never been to Jurai before. It doesn't seem a very bad place to live, though, if you have to be tied somewhere." she observed. "I always heard that it was beautiful."
"Yes, it's a pretty enough world." Aiko agreed. "May I ask, where are you from, Dr Akara?"
"Airai, originally." Najya smiled prettily. "Although I've lived at the Academy for a while now."
"Airai, huh?" A curious look entered the princess's eyes at this. "Interesting. I've always been fascinated by the Arian culture. Certainly it's true that they produce some of the best perfume in the galaxy."
"Perfume?" Najya looked startled, and despite herself, Washu smiled.
"Historically speaking, Jurai and Airai don't have very strong public relations." She remarked. "Or so I understood. Is that not the case?"
"It depends on who you ask." Aiko shrugged.
"Historically speaking, Jurai has managed to upset pretty much every solar system in existance in some way or another." Kagato agreed. "We tend not to worry about it too much. They get over it, sooner or later."
"I see." Washu pursed her lips. "Some sooner than others, I trust."
"Washu's family come from one of Jurai's colonised worlds." Najya explained, as Aiko looked startled.
"Really? Which one?" The princess looked interested.
"It's not really important." Washu dismissed it with a careless smile. "It's Jurai's now, that's all that matters."
"I understood your family were of Kii origin, Washu-sensei." Kagato observed softly, as the door opened behind them to reveal the late Professor. "And your timing, Mikamo-kun, is as impeccable as ever it was. I'll just have to set the clocks to fifteen minutes slower and you'll be right on time."
"Sorry. I was busy...er...working on something." Mikamo looked embarrassed, offering a bow to Aiko before taking his seat. "Professor Hakubi, Dr Akara, please forgive me. I didn't mean to be late."
"It's all right, Niwase-sensei." Najya greeted him warmly. "It's good to see you - you never answer your mail!"
"Well, I get sidetracked." Mikamo looked rueful. "Please, don't let me interrupt the conversation."
"We were just discussing where Dr Akara and Professor Hakubi originated from." Aiko told him.
"Apparently someone told Lord Kagato that I was a Kii." Washu added, her tones deceptively gentle as she fixed Mikamo with a sharp gaze. He reddened under her glare, dropping his gaze to the table.
"I might have done."
"I'm sorry - did I say something wrong?" Kagato looked concerned. "Washu-sensei, I hope I didn't offend you by my suggestion..."
"No...not at all, Prince Kagato." Washu shook her head. "It's no secret. Evidently. My people are Kii. Or were. Once. They're all dead now."
She shot Mikamo another glare, and Mikamo bit his lip, offering her a rueful look. She tossed her head, glancing away.
"I'm sorry I brought the subject up." Aiko's eyes flitted from Mikamo to Washu, an uncharacteristic frown touching her lips. "I didn't mean to touch on a sore topic, Washu-sensei. Forgive me."
"Really, Aiko-hime, there is nothing to forgive." Washu said quietly. "It all happened a long time ago, now. I'm just surprised, that's all. My background isn't something that gets much discussed in social circles. For my own reasons, I prefer not to remember."
It was impossible for Mikamo to look any more chastened, and a glance passed between mother and son, as if mutually agreeing to change the tone of the conversation to something else.
"I hope you don't mind that we're dining here tonight, instead of in the main conclave." Aiko said carefully. "Normally we're invited to dine with the Emperor and my Lord brother and sister. But I don't often choose to enter the melee unless there's a good reason. Much as I like the social scene, meals in the royal hall are noisy affairs and you can't always hear yourself think. I much prefer to eat here - where I can entertain who I choose, when I choose."
"I think this room is beautiful, Lady Aiko." Najya shot Washu a sidelong glance, then hurried to take the Princess's lead, smiling. "It looks old. Is it?"
"It's seen a few generations of royal princesses, yes." Aiko nodded. "I love this section of the palace - it has a special romantic charm for me."
"Mother was betrothed to Father in the outer chamber of this wing." Kagato explained. "He died fighting for his Emperor - he was a very brave man."
"That's so sad." Najya murmured. Aiko spread her hands.
"Lord Hotaru was as Kagato says. A brave man." She said simply. "It's easier to honour the memory of one such, don't you think?"
"I didn't know you were a widow, Aiko-hime." Washu admitted. "I really don't know much about the current royal house of Jurai at all."
"Ah, well, Jurai does like to keep itself to itself." Aiko said ruefully. "My Lord Father has a closed court policy, and only those he approves are able to enter. You have to realise, you see, that Shigure-sama has seen many, many battles fought between Jurai and their enemies. Some of those plots were initiated from within Jurai's own court, including the one which resulted in the death of my Lord Grandfather. Naturally, my Father is a wary man. And of course, he lost my Lady Mother when my brother and I were born. He lacks the woman's touch which would keep him from indulging his paranoia quite so widely."
"Mother." Kagato's voice was more amused than chiding. "You'll give our guests the impression that we're not a closeknit, cuddly royal family at this rate."
Aiko laughed, unashamed.
"No family is entirely without troubles." She said carelessly. "But we do all right, as families go."
At that moment the food was served, and for a while, conversation languished as the two scientists sampled their first taste of traditional Juraian cuisine. Mikamo ate in silence also, Washu noticed, and when she happened to catch his gaze briefly, she noticed that he still had a guilty look in his expression. She sighed, dropping her gaze back to her own plate. Men were definitely more trouble than they were worth, she decided, stabbing at her food rather more viciously than was necessary. She would take this as a lesson, and never get involved with another one ever again.
"You know, I believe that the royal court might be celebrating some happy news soon." Aiko remarked, as the first course drew to a close and she gestured to the servants to clear the table. "Or so the story has it. No doubt it will be the talk of the high table at the banquet this evening, in any case."
"Happy news?" Najya looked interested. "Of what nature, Aiko-hime?"
Aiko smiled, and Washu realised that despite her middle years, Aiko really did not look all that much older than her own son. Absently she wondered how old the Princess must have been when he was born. No more than twenty, for certain...perhaps not even so old as that.
"My lady sister has been off her food for some days now." Aiko said with a warm smile. "Misaki-chan is like a sister to me, you have to understand - she is my twin brother's wife and she and I have been the best of friends since Haru first told me his intention to marry her. At long last, it seems that she is to bear a child. A new Prince or Princess is about to join the Jurai royal family - now, that's cause for real celebration, isn't it?"
"A baby?" Shock flashed into Kagato's eyes, followed by something that, to Washu, almost looked like a glitter of alarm. But in a moment it was gone, replaced by his genial twinkle, and she half-wondered if her paranoia about Mikamo was making her imagine things in the expressions of her other companions. "But I thought Lady Misaki wasn't able to conceive."
"There's never been any reason why not. She's just not been so blessed." Aiko said with a smile. "Now, it seems, Tsunami has chosen to bless her. She was seen by a physician this morning. It's official, Kagato-chan. You and Yosho will no longer be the only Princes of your generation."
"That will make a nice change." Kagato smiled. "Will she have a celebration? We must send flowers or some other gift, to congratulate her and Lord Haru on their blessing."
"Yes, indeed." Aiko agreed. She smiled at the scientists. "I'm sorry - this must seem like anal court gossip to you. But I'm afraid that the birth of a new Prince or Princess can be a very significant event on Jurai. And as a mother myself, I'm always happy to see the same joy in others."
Her eyes twinkled, making her look less like a mother than ever, and Najya smiled.
"I think it's lovely." She said sincerely. "I'm glad for Lady Misaki."
"I suppose work at the Academy gets in the way of you girls socialising too much." Aiko mused, eying them both thoughtfully. "It's a shame, almost. You're pretty girls - you should see something of Jurai's society while you're here, at least. Don't let my son lock you in the laboratory - I know how obsessive he can become, and you are guests of Jurai as well as under his patronage."
"I suppose when you commit to science enough to join the Academy, you swear away most claims to a social life." Washu said thoughtfully, deliberately looking right at the princess as she answered, and avoiding Mikamo's eyes completely. "But you're very kind, Hime-sama. If we're able, I'm sure we'd like to see as much of Jurai as possible."
"There are no hard feelings, then, from you towards our planet?" Aiko asked gently, and Washu looked surprised.
"Hime?"
"On account of your family."
"Oh." Washu hesitated, then shook her head. "No. There's noone on Jurai now who's responsible for what happened then. I don't hate this planet, Lady Aiko, or anyone on it."
"That's good." Aiko smiled. "I won't pretend to be ignorant of the bad things Jurai has done in the past, but with any luck, they won't spill over into the future, if everyone can forgive like you can."
Washu stared at her for a moment, then she smiled, nodding her head.
"You understand my way of thinking, Lady Aiko." She said, new respect in her eyes for the Princess who sat before her. "I don't seek conflict. I just want to get on with my work and that's all. After all, you can't change the past."
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mikamo flinch slightly as she spoke those words, but she took no notice. After all, she had already made herself clear to him once, and now there was nothing to be done but to let the dust settle as they returned to their routines as hard working, disinterested scientists.
"I just hope that's going to be as easy as I need it to be." She muttered to herself under her breath, as the second course was served. "Because if ever there was a test of my willpower, this is going to be it!"
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"Washu-sensei?"
As she and Najya walked slowly back towards their quarters, Mikamo accosted them, an anxious look in his expression as he met Washu's startled gaze. "Washu...please, will you...can I...talk to you? Alone, just for...a minute or two?"
"Niwase-sensei, I thought it was already understood between us..." Washu began, but Mikamo shook his head.
"Please." He said softly. "I need to...explain something to you."
"Washu, go with him." Najya glanced from one to the other, stepping back away from them on the path. "That was the weirdest dinner I've been to in a while, and if I hadn't known better, I'd think one of you wanted to slay the other. I don't think Lady Aiko or Lord Kagato quite understood the undertones, but you need to get them out of your system before you offend someone. We're here to work on a very important project - and you have to stop behaving like children."
"Najya?" Washu stared at her new friend, who shrugged.
"You have unresolved issues." She said frankly. "I've never seen Niwase-sensei so lost for words, and I half thought you might skin him alive at one point, Washu-chan. So please, for the sanity of everyone you're going to work with for the next few weeks, hash it out between you. If one of you winds up dead, I'll play alibi for the other. Just, whatever it is, sort it out and bury it. Okay?"
Mikamo shot Washu a quizzical glance, and at length the scientist sighed, nodding her head in resignation.
"All right." She said flatly. "Though there's nothing to talk about."
"Go back to our room, Washu." Najya suggested. "I'll take a walk for a while, and come back in a half hour or so. I want to walk down to Tsunami's shrine, anyway - see it for myself."
With that she was gone along the path, disappearing into the trees before either could call her back, and Washu found herself alone with her former lover.
"Your...room?" Mikamo looked apprehensive, and Washu glared at him.
"You weren't so reluctant to visit it earlier." She snapped, grabbing him roughly by the arm. "We'll go there. And the sooner we settle this, the sooner you can leave me alone and let me get on with my work!"
She closed her eyes, flickering and blurring them both out of view and re-materialising them in the middle of her chamber. Mikamo's hand went to his chest and he drew a sharp breath of air into his lungs, sinking down onto the end of Najya's bed.
"I hate it when you do that." He muttered. "And I thought you didn't use your magic - I thought you didn't want anyone to see it."
"Well, since you told half of Jurai that I'm a Kii, it doesn't seem to matter." Washu spat back. "What in hell were you thinking, Mikamo? How hard have I worked to build up my reputation without that? Not only do you humiliate me in front of your family, but now in front of the Prince of Jurai who's patronising this whole project? Do you want me sent back to the Academy as a freak or a failure?"
"Washu, Kagato isn't going to send you anywhere." Mikamo sighed, rubbing his temples. "I'm sorry I told him you were Kii, but I said nothing about your magic. And I only told him about your roots because I told him you could read Old Era Juraian, and he didn't believe anyone outside the planet would be able to. It kinda slipped out...it wasn't meant as a slight. In fact, I told Kagato quite the opposite about your ability - that you were one of the most brilliant women I knew. And you are, which is why you're here."
"Is it really why I'm here?" Washu asked sharply. "I wondered at the time, when they told me I had been summoned and that you were behind it. I don't know your motives, Mikamo, and I don't like it."
"I wanted to see you again." Mikamo raised honest blue eyes to hers, and Washu snorted.
"Well, now you have. Are you happy?" She shot back. "I've a mind to go back to the Academy anyway, despite everything. I'd rather be here on merit, not because you want to gawp at me and relive some strange fantasy that's going on in your head. I'm not here to supply you with entertainment. I'm here to work."
"And that's what you'll do, if Kagato has anything to do with it." Mikamo said quietly. "I wanted to see you, but he wanted a scientist. And I gave him the best I knew. You and Najya."
He sighed.
"This has been all wrong." He added unecessarily. "I wasn't prepared for you to be so hostile to me earlier...it threw me."
"What did you think I'd do? Start crying and fall into your arms?" Washu asked acerbically. "Who do you think I am? If you expected that reaction, you really don't know me very well."
"No, I didn't expect that. But expected you to at least talk to me." Mikamo's own temper began to bubble at this. "Instead you shut me out - literally. If you hate me, fine, you hate me. But Najya is right. We can't work in the kind of atmosphere we had at dinner tonight."
"You barely said a word."
"Because it would be bad manners to argue with you in front of Princess Aiko and my friend, that's why."
"Well, forgive me, Lord Niwase." Washu spat back at him, anger in her eyes. "I wasn't raised as high as you, so I suppose I never learnt those kinds of good manners. After all, I am just a Kii, right? Little better than a savage in the eyes of polite society?"
Tears pricked at the back of her eyes and Mikamo groaned, burying his head in his hands.
"I have never, ever said that, Washu."
"You didn't have to." Washu said bitterly. "Your family and your actions made it more than perfectly clear to me how you viewed me and my background. Actions speak louder, you know. It's true. They do."
She eyed him for a moment, then scooped up the empty glass that sat on the bedside table, pushing open the bathroom door as she poured herself a glass of water. Perching on the end of her bed, she eyed him warily, sipping her drink as she tried to force herself to calm down. For a while, there was silence between them, then Mikamo raised his gaze to hers again.
"I still love you, you know."
"I don't care how many times you say that, Mikamo. I know it's a lie." Washu shook her head.
"It's not a lie!"
"It is." Washu bit her lip. "Because if you loved me, you wouldn't act the way you acted. And you wouldn't have left me the way that you did. So I know it's a lie and I'd rather you told me the truth."
"This is going to be a long conversation, isn't it." Mikamo sighed. "Am I allowed a glass of water too? I might speak myself hoarse as it is, but if I can make you listen..."
"Oh, for heaven's sake." Washu grimaced, dumping her own drink down with very bad grace and grabbing up Najya's empty glass, retreating into the bathroom once more. "I'm not your hired help, you know!"
As she ran the water into the glass, a sudden thought popped into her mind and she frowned, setting the glass down on the unit as she rummaged among her washing supplies for the small vial of greenish liquid she had brought with her. She had intended on working further on the compound in the safety of Jurai's lab, but now another thought occured to her and carefully she removed the lid, glancing at it, then tipping several drops of the substance into the glass of water. Fastening the vial once more, she returned it to her wash bag, swirling the water around until the green colour dissipated. Then she kicked back the sliding door, re-entering the bedroom and handing him the glass. In silence he took it, taking a long sip, then setting it down beside him.
"Well?" Washu dropped back down onto her own bed. "Enlighten me. Whatever you want to 'make me understand' - Mikamo, I'm listening."
Mikamo sighed heavily, closing his eyes briefly and Washu could tell he was composing his thoughts.
"My mother is a very strong woman, and my father is a very domineering man." He said quietly. "And you have no idea what it's like to grow up in a family where breathing out of time can get you beaten or locked in your room in disgrace. I suppose I'm a product of that world, if nothing else. When I wanted to join the Academy, it was a struggle. Only the fact that I was the third son and not Father's heir made them give way. But when I broached the subject of you with them, they...they didn't really understand."
He took another sip of water, and Washu watched him like a hawk, unsure as to how her compound would affect her companion's words.
"I suppose I buckled." He acknowledged. "When they all gang up on you, they're a fearsome team. They'd have disowned me, Washu. Cut me off from them and from everything. I suppose I...I thought that that mattered. That I'd always been a Niwase, and I didn't know how to be anything else."
"So far you're coming across like a weak little mummy's boy." Washu said coldly, as he paused for a longer period this time. "And you're arrogant when you say I don't understand. I was beaten by my father pretty much every day I lived at home, Mikamo. I refused to become what he wanted me to be, and he punished me for it relentlessly. But I still chose my path, regardless. I was still true to myself."
"At what cost?" Mikamo asked bleakly. "I know you, Washu. I know more about you than anyone at the Academy ever has or ever will. I know that when you say your people are dead, you don't just mean your family. You mean Kihaku. And you blame yourself for that fact. I've been with you when you've relived it in dreams - when you've talked about that world and how dead and cold Kihaku now is. I know that if you could take it back, you would - even if it meant buckling to your father's will and being what he wanted you to be."
A cold chill touched Washu's heart at this, and she stared at him, aghast. Mikamo nodded.
"I didn't tell Kagato which Kii family you belonged to, because I swore to you when you confided in me that I never would." He added softly. "And I'll keep that promise, Washu. I'll take it to my grave. But I know that you have regrets. We don't always make the right choices. We just think we do...and we can't always go back and rectify them once they're made."
Washu swallowed hard, reaching absently for her drink as she did so.
"That was a low blow." she murmured. Mikamo looked sad.
"I'm sorry." he admitted. "I'm not sure why I brought it up - but it just seemed to...come out that way."
Washu sighed.
"And I'm meant to believe that because I regret some of my choices, yours are on the same scale?" She asked. "Nice try, but I don't think it works that way."
"I know it doesn't." Mikamo shook his head. "But when you make decisions, you don't have the benefit of hindsight. I knew I loved you, Washu, but I had so much pressure put on me. It's no excuse, but it's how it was, anyway. And until I was dragged away and sent here, I didn't realise how much you really meant to me. I'd never been in love - I thought all I wanted was to be a scientist and make great discoveries. But when I left the Academy, I realised that there was something I wanted more than that. And that was you. Only I'd lost you. And I hated myself for that more than anything. I know you would never have treated me in such a cavalier manner."
"Mikamo." Washu looked stricken. "But..."
"I still love you, more than I can even bear sometimes." Mikamo glanced at his hands. "And I thought bringing you here might help, but so far it only makes it worse. So close but so far...It would have been better if I'd never seen you again, than to have seen you and known that you hated me."
He fell silent again, and to her dismay Washu was aware of genuine tears in the depths of her companion's eyes.
"Mikamo..." she began. "I want you to stop talking. I mean, you don't..."
"No, I have to finish this, while I've found the courage to begin." Mikamo shook his head, holding up his hands. "Even if you do hate me, I still have to. Washu, I love you. And if I could have my time again, and go back, I'd have told my family that I didn't care what they thought of me. I'd made my choice and I wasn't going to break the heart of such a woman, just to satisfy their social obsessions. If they didn't accept it, then that would have been their problem. Instead, I made it yours. I became like them...and I can understand if you can't forgive that. But if I had my time again, I would have taken you from the Academy that night and I would have married you then and there, regardless. Because then I would have known I'd have you forever. No matter what happened next, I'd always have you. And really, Washu, I think that was the only thing I needed. Instead, it was the one thing I let go."
"Mikamo! No, you mustn't!" Washu was agitated now, and as he put his glass to his lips again, she was on her feet, dashing it away. It hit the wood floor with a clatter, shattering into multiple pieces and sending splashes of the liquid all across the beams.
Mikamo stared at it in shock, then at her.
"Washu?"
"You have to stop talking now." Washu knew she was not far from tears herself. "Please, Mikamo. Stop saying these things."
"But they're true." Mikamo frowned. "And..."
"I know." Washu whispered, biting down hard on her lip. "I...I put truth serum in your water. But I didn't expect...I didn't..."
She faltered, burying her head in her hands, and Mikamo stared at her, his expression going from shock to anger.
"You drugged me?"
"I wanted to know the truth." Washu admitted helplessly. "I wanted to know if...if you'd ever loved me. And then you said all of that, and...and it hurt to hear it, Mikamo. I don't know how to fight my feelings when yours are so strong, and it hurt."
"I can't believe you drugged me." Mikamo looked stupefied, gazing down at the mess on the floor. "But how? What with?"
"A compound made from the samples you left me. Seniwan goop." Washu confessed, her voice shaking slightly. "I suppose it was dishonest, but...Mikamo, I never fell in love till I met you, either. And you hurt me - you have no idea how much it hurt when you left. I heard everything your family said about me. I speak your language as well as I speak my own, you should have known that. Nothing was a secret from me, and that was bad enough. But to think you thought that of me, too...I couldn't bear it. So I...I had to know. I had to know if the Lord of Seniwa had just been toying with his Kii woman, or if...if you really cared for me as much as I cared for you."
"That stuff is toxic, Washu!"
"No...I refined it." Washu shook her head. "It's been trialed once at least - I wasn't poisoning you."
"Trialed?" Despite himself, Mikamo stared at her curiously. "The Academy are sanctioning interrogation fluids now?"
"No. I made it in secret, to find out if Clay was spying on me for Menori, and he was." Washu rubbed her temples. "It seemed like a good idea, when it worked so well on him. But I don't want you to tell me things because my drug made you confess them. It's not fair. I don't want that."
"But they're true things, Washu-chan." Mikamo put a hesitant hand on her shoulder, and she glanced up at him in surprise.
"Mikamo?"
"And now you know beyond all doubt that I mean them, don't you?"
"I...I suppose..."
"The truth of it is, Washu, I did hope that you would forgive me, if you came to Jurai." Mikamo looked abashed. "And I didn't imagine you'd be quite as hostile as you were, even though I knew you'd be angry. I hoped you'd not be so hostile, maybe that's more accurate."
He frowned.
"Does this serum work on you, by the way?"
"I feel it, but I can resist it's effects." Washu said quietly. "Mikamo, I'm sorry. About the serum. It wasn't a fair thing to do - I don't know what's happened to me. I just thought I could trust you, and then..."
"I'm not angry." Mikamo put a finger on her lips, shaking his head. "In a sense, I deserved it. You had every reason to doubt me. But I hope you don't doubt any more, Washu-chan. I do love you, more than anything. And I do want to be with you, no matter what my family think. They can have their opinions, but those opinions aren't mine. I think you're amazing - Kii or not, magic or not...I love who you are, regardless. Can you believe that?"
"I guess I have to, considering." Washu admitted. "But it's not like before, Mikamo. I've been hurt...and more, you might think your family's view doesn't matter. But it might...eventually. You still can't bring me home as the future Lady Niwase."
"No, not yet. But I'll work on it. One step at a time." Mikamo said gently. "If you'll trust me again, Washu-chan. Because I want to trust you, more than anything. And try and find what we had, again. Is it still there, do you think?"
"I don't know." Washu admitted. "But I know that the one time I really remember being happy is when we were together, at the Academy. So...so since I know what you say is true, Mikamo-kun, I...I guess I have to trust you, don't I?"
She bit her lip.
"But not a word to anyone, not yet." She added. "Najya already seems to know a lot more than I've told her, but aside from her, we have to keep it a secret. Until you find a way to tell your family, I won't create bigger ripples than I have to. I know your family are friendly with Lady Aiko's, and I don't want to lose my position here."
"All right, though Kagato would understand." Mikamo told her.
"You trust him, don't you?" Washu raised her gaze to his. Mikamo nodded.
"We've been friends a long time." he agreed. "Even though he's younger than me, he's never seemed it. Yes, Washu. I trust him."
Washu sighed.
"Then I hope I can, too." She murmured. "Because he knows I'm a Kii, and a lot of the people at the Academy don't. Clay included. I've managed to bury it so deep in my records, few people have ever found it out. I'd rather it didn't get about."
"I'm sorry about that, Washu. I didn't mean to."
"All right. I guess I'll let it go." Washu frowned. "Since I doped you, and all. It will wear off, by the way. An hour or so, tops...maybe less. It's not a very concentrated solution, yet."
"We're almost even." Mikamo reflected. He took her hand gently in his, glancing at it.
"Will you let me kiss you, Washu-sama?" He asked softly. Washu snorted.
"Lady Washu, now?"
"To me you are." Mikamo said simply, and despite herself, Washu felt her cheeks reddening. He smiled, touching her gently on the cheek.
"Well?" He asked. "Have I been forgiven enough for that? Or will you make me wait?"
Washu hesitated for a moment. Then she sighed.
"One kiss." She acknowledged. "But only because I love you. I'm still mad at you, Mikamo, and the whole loving you thing doesn't cancel out all the other things completely. But...but I do love you, and that's something I have more trouble fighting. It's a good thing noone found out how to bottle love in a serum, yet...it's hard enough dealing with it when you have an attack of the real thing."
"It doesn't have to be so bad, though." Mikamo told her gently. "We just have to stop fighting and I have to stop being an idiot and appreciate what I have before I let it go."
"You do." Washu agreed. "I won't be so forgiving next time, so remember that, all right?"
Mikamo cupped her chin in his, kissing her gently.
"I won't forget." He whispered. "And Najya will be back soon, so I should go. But I'll see you tomorrow morning in the lab, Washu-chan. And I expect you to give our project your best. All right?"
"My very best." Washu's eyes sparkled with emotion. "Good night, Mikamo-kun. Till tomorrow."