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A couple bits of this even made me a little uncomfortable, so it
seems appropriate: potential trigger warning for domestic violence.
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'I've got to hurry, he'll be here any minute!'

Slamming the pan on the stove in her hurry, Mako swore as the
hot oil sloshed over the sides, scalding her hand. She cast a
frantic glance towards the clock, the hands still moving in their
usual, uncaring manner. She was already running late, and didn't
hesitate to ignore her injury until there would be time to tend to
it.

The clock ticked off that another minute had passed and the
women seriously began to feel pressured. Her stomach was fluttering
uneasily and sweat appeared on her brow. Opening a nearby cupboard,
Mako grabbed a plate and began to arrange the food from the many
pots and pans that littered the kitchen.

'Neat. Has to look attractive or he won't like it.'

She kept repeating this to herself, focusing three-quarters of
her attention on the task in front of her, the remainder keeping a
wary eye on the clock. It seemed to take an eternity to make the
dish look the way he liked, but he still hadn't arrived as she burst
through the door between the kitchen and dining room. The table had
already been set in a magnificently luxurious manner, the only odd
thing about it being that there was only one place set. It seemed
intensely out of place, just one end being decorated on the huge
table that could comfortably seat twenty.

Mako gingerly set the plate down in the center of the
arrangement, careful not to move any of the food from its delicate
position, and then turned back to the kitchen to get the basket of
bread she had baked fresh that morning.

The key unlocking the front door told her that she was just a
little too late this time and she froze in panic. Should she run
and try to make it to the table with the remainder of his meal
before he could see it? No, he would know. He always knew. Better
then to simply stay where she was and hope he had not had a bad day
at work.

Slowly he walked into the room, peering around the corner and
looking at the table setting. Without a word, or even a glance at
the woman standing by the swinging door, he removed his tie and
tossed it over his shoulder where it landed in a crumpled heap on
the hardwood floor.

The woman hesitated momentarily, unsure which path was the best
one to chose, only positive that whichever one she picked, it would
be the wrong one. But she had to do something, so she moved as
quickly as possible to snatch the tie from the ground, checking
first to make sure that her hands were clean and wouldn't mess up
the expensive fabric. She winced as she was reminded of the burn,
temporarily forgotten in her panic. Oh well, no time to take care
of it now. It would have to wait.

If her decision to pick up his discarded clothing from the floor
was the incorrect one, the man made no indication of it. He just
continued walking towards the food at the end of the table,
examining it and everything else in the dining room. Mako returned
to her former position by the doorway as she watched him circle
around the chair like a predator who had cornered its prey.

He gave a noncommital grunt before pulling his seat back from
the table and preparing to consume the meal in front of him. Mako
held her breath. She had spent all of her time that day preparing
it, when she hadn't been cleaning the house or doing his laundry.

'Please let him have had a good day, please...'

The man finished chewing and swallowed, reaching for the glass
of wine in front of him as he surveyed the rest of the table.

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Yes, of course, I was just on my way to-"

"No excuses. Just get it."

Mako nodded quickly and rushed into the kitchen for the basket
of bread, thanking whatever gods watched over her that her husband
was in a good mood after all.

Half an hour later, the man was finishing his meal while his
wife continued to hover in the doorway as she had since bringing him
the remainder of the food, ready to fetch him whatever he asked for
in seconds. He supressed a satisfied smirk at her subservience. It
had taken a while to get her to this point, but he did so love a
challenge. And he had to admit, it had all been worth it. He settled
back in the chair and tossed his napkin on the table. Instantly, she
was there, cleaning up his dishes. He supposed that she would eat
something later; he never bothered to find out. As she leaned across
the table to get his empty glass, he noticed the burn on her hand. His
eyes widened and he looked at the woman with surprise.

"What the hell is that?"

She didn't seem to know what he was referring to at first, but
then understanding dawned and she tried to hide her hand.

"Nothing. It's nothing."

"What do you mean 'nothing', you've been around food - MY
food - with a wound like that! Do you have any idea what kind of
bacteria you could have infested me with?"

She was about to explain that it happened after his dinner had
already been made and that she just hadn't had time to bandage it,
but he cut her off with a wave of his hand.

"Whatever, just go cover it up or something, it's disgusting to
look at."

The woman nodded and turned towards the bathroom when a hand
gripped her arm and warm breath on the back of her neck made her
freeze in place. "You don't look half bad today, you know. If
you're really good, I'll even come up and visit you tonight."

He had to will himself not to laugh as he saw her back
straighten in alarm and her muscles tense under his hand. He'd been
more than nice and understanding so far this evening, even though
she STILL hadn't had everything ready like she was supposed to.
Now it was time for some fun.

The mere thought of him touching her made Mako want to scream
and she had to fight down the bile rising in her throat. A voice
began to reverberate across her mind, yelling that this was wrong
and that she had to do something to escape, but she supressed it,
just as she had been supressing it for almost nine years.

"What's the matter," he asked, his voice low as he spoke into
her ear, "don't feel up to it?" Laughing without a trace of humour,
he threw Mako's arm away, releasing his hold on her. She inhaled
deeply, realzing that she'd been holding her breath since his first
touch.

"I'm not surprised, the only thing you're somewhat useful for is
keeping the house in shape."

The voice again popped into Mako's head, and she again shoved it
to one side, although she turned around to face her husband
squarely. Usually she averted her eyes, and he seemed to perk up at
this sudden spark that he had assumed was long since extinguished.

He took a few steps towards her, expecting her gaze to drop, but
she held his. He wasn't sure if he was more angry or impressed.
Either way, he was really getting into the fight now. Time to bring
out the big guns.

"You're no good, but you know who might be? One of those
friends of yours you always seem so protective of." Mako's eyes
narrowed threateningly, and the man returned the look with a cruel
smirk, knowing that he had hit a nerve.

"Yeah, I think one of them might suit the bill perfectly. How
about that cute little blue haired one, she looks like she could use
a real man in her life. No? I could really go for that psychic. She's
by herself, I'm sure that she'd welcome someone like me to keep her
company." Ignoring Mako's furious snarl, the man snapped his fingers
as if suddenly seeing the perfect soluation to a persistant problem.
"That's it! I'll go for one of those blondes. The one that's been
married forever. Being stuck with the same thing every day, she must
be so bored she'd probably welcome a change of pace. Hell, I'll go
after all four of them. Maybe you'd like to watch and learn a thing
or two?"

He'd been so caught up in his plans for conquest that he never
saw the fist until it had already left his stomach and was heading
for his jaw. As he crumpled to the ground, unconscious, Mako felt
as though that had been incredibly theraputic.

"Not in a million years, 'sempai'. I'm outta here, you son of a
bitch."