AN: Sorry I've not updated in so long! Just a lot of things take hold and crap happens I guess. Anyhow, updates will be more and more frequent from this point on.

Chapter 4

When I awoke I felt as if I where in heaven. A cool constant breeze was rising and falling over my face and the smell of the apartment smelled like mango and kiwi. I opened my eyes and found that I was in someone else's house. My vision was extremely blurry and the large flat-screen I was looking looked as if it were the contents of a lava lamp. There where statues everywhere as well as sculptures of various masks. Their place of origin looked African as well as South American or somewhere there about.

I looked around and saw Prof. Nocturne sitting at a table typing on a laptop. He stopped a moment, cracked his neck; a sound which made my skin just crawl with a mixture of fear and disgust, and he turned his swivel chair towards me. He smiled as he saw and knocked on the wall behind him twice. He went back to typing as Haruko came out smiling her usual mischievous smile and she sat down in a small chair beside me. She threw a cold bottle of water into my lap and simply motioned for me to drink.

After doing so, I asked, "Where I am and why on earth is everything out of focus…answer me now."

She stretched her legs and replied, "In order: Reggie's penthouse flat and your vision problem is the effect of listening to my upgraded instruments. Did you enjoy last night or is your memory fuzzy?"

"I can remember just bits and pieces…why?"

"Well because you didn't indulge yourself in the music all the way. I've found something very interesting in behavioral science, Ta-kun. Music is like an aphrodisiac if used in the proper situation or applied when someone is semi-aware of their urges. It only has the desired effect however when someone completely lets go of all previous fetters."

"What effect are you talking about?"

"The effect of sexual fulfillment as well as a feeling of a completely spiced up libido. After a while, usually about five minutes, it also begins to have the effects of PCP in that you have no control over your body and are simply watching it from afar."

"So…what you're doing…is turning me into a walking sexual-laced time bomb?"

She smiled and winked, "Oh, you better believe it." she took out a piece of gum and threw it over to me, "Chew that. You're breath smells slightly of alcohol. Tell me, how do you feel having partially let go?"

"To be honest, liberated slightly but still, I'm not like you and Prof. Nocturne over there. I have controls and I don't like it when people screw with them."

She simply smiled and rolled her eyes before walking off. She came back rather quickly and threw the morning paper into my lap. She beamed proudly as she sat down and waited for me to read. Her elation reminded me so much of a child's reaction to their parent reading their good grade card. After my nightmare of a vision problem died down, I took the newspaper in my hand and read the following:

IRON SANDS: THE BIGGEST PSYCHEDELIC METAL HIT OF THE DECADE!

I looked at Haruko for an explanation and she just kept smiling proud and happy. I looked at the picture they had splashed under the headline. It showed some guy making out with Haurko but in my mind that was probably nothing new for her. My headache started up again but only in the midst of the pain did I realize something; something that scared me absolutely shitless as I looked back at the picture. The guy in the picture was me! I couldn't believe my eyes nor did I want to whatsoever. But nonetheless it was there is clear and crisp for anyone to see.

I looked at Haruko wide-eyed since there was nothing else I really could do. She just smiled a foxy grin and replied, "I will say this much, Ta-kun, your tongue tasted absolutely amazing; a cross between a sweet mint stick and hard lemonade. I'm surprised you've learned that much oral technique."

I cringed at the statement since I began to wonder why my mouth tasted funny when I woke up. Haruko just stuck her tongue out and flicked it out licking her upper lip in a swift movement. Trying to put it out of my mind, I looked at my watch. It was ten thirty. My eyes widened as I thought to myself I was going to be late for my class.

Haruko for some reason already knew the concern and calmed me somewhat by replying, "Don't worry, Ta-kun. Your classes don't start until two thirty. Remember, you've structured your schedule so that you have all day classes on Tuesday then on Thursday; you've got all your night classes. The latest one going till' about nine or so…kinda depends on the teacher."

I rolled my eyes at her to which she responded by mimicking me. I got off the bed and went over to Prof. Nocturne. He was typing about something along the lines of the influence of the Marquis De Sade. As I passed, he commented, "Didn't I tell you, you'd have a good time?"

I was groggy so I just replied as simply as I could, "You didn't tell me anything all I remember is…" that was just it, I couldn't remember anything. It was beginning to bug me as I dwelled on the problem more and more. I came back to Nocturne and asked him, "Hey what happened after I passed out last night?"

Both of them looked at me as if I were from another planet and they both asked simultaneously, "You passed out?"

I turned to Haruko who as performing what looked like Pilates and asked her rather afraid of what I was going to hear, "You're both telling me I didn't pass out like I felt myself doing? It was at the end of the first song."

"Ta-kun," Haruko responsed after I heard the bones of her ribs and back crunch and pop, "you didn't pass out after the first song. You were all over the place. I saw you. You were dancing on the floor with about ten different women kissing some of them, feeling up others. I'm honestly quite proud of you."

"Besides," Nocturne rejoined, "if you did pass out, I surely would've noticed. Either that or you would've been picked up by one of the security team. By the way, how did you enjoy the evening?

"I honestly can't remember. It's just a blacked out blur."

He just nodded but as I turned my head, I could've sworn I saw the last millisecond of Haruko winking at him. I looked at her again putting on the sternest face I could but she simply blew me a kiss before saying, "Okay, you're up now get into the shower. You smell like a mini-bar and as far as the civilized world is concerned, you can't go around smelling like that all day."

Feeling my headache well up again, headed to the bathroom to follow her advice. Who knows, the hot water might help with what I assumed was a hangover. As I closed the door, I let out a ripper of a belch and the odor that came off my breath wreaked of either beer or wine, but given my condition the odor could've been a mixture of anything. The hot water was a breathtaking relief to my senses. My skin felt like caked grime and as far as I was concerned it was a sign that I had really overexerted myself last night.

I got out and went to the guest room which I found had all my possessions in it. Somehow, they were able to transfer all my clothes and so forth without the slightest objection from anyone. I dressed in a red shirt and khaki pants. I came out of my room and upon Haruko's insistence, drank another bottle of water which seemed to kill the headache when it showed signs of reemerging. Then, breakfast came which was a generous serving of pancakes with an orange. I wanted an egg but Prof. Nocturne insisted that I not have any greasy food at least until lunch if then.

I left the apartment and headed out around campus since I believed that not only the fresh air would do me good, but it would equally satisfying to be rid of bad company for a while. As I came up the knoll which led to the main hall, I saw Ninamori sitting at one of the few tables typing on her laptop while drinking what I assumed to be coffee. I came up to her and instantly turned her head almost as if I'd made too loud a noise walking up. I saw on her computer she was hard at work with the assignment Nocturne gave us as a matter of fact, the more I read, the more I felt like a science experiment. She things labeled as: Time of Interaction, Physical/Emotional Responses, Advances Tried, etc. it was downright odd. Either she really wanted an A or she just took this approach with absolutely everything that came her way.

As I sat down beside her, she let out an exasperated sigh and I could tell it wasn't coffee on her breath but instead the smell of chocolate. I understand it gets cold but who needs a hot chocolate when fifty degrees outside? Anyway, she finished essentially making her evaluation sheet, and just looked me over. I could never tell what she was honestly thinking for it seemed her entire profile was akin to statue, completely and utterly unchangeable unless someone with balls of steel dare make an alteration. I say balls of steel for in Ninamori's case, if anyone tried to alter her business like visage, before having altered the slightest wrinkle, she would've truly most likely killed half of civilization.

"What's with you," she asked surprised to see my admittedly rather done in expression, "it's as if you've just come back from some 1980's rave or something."

"Trust me," I replied, "You wouldn't believe the half of it."

AN: Short in terms of content I know but I hope you like it. Read and review.