I walked into the dojo, dropping my purse and heels in their usual place. I wouldn't be cooking today but just to save Miu from having to do it, I had ordered out. It had been a massive order of ten large pizza's and the young man who took my order had thought it was a joke at first. I had told Sakaki the order was on its way and given him a few bucks for a tip.
I strolled down the hall, looking for Akisame when I heard Miu's voice.
"Romeo, oh, Romeo!" she cried in the most robot drawl I had ever heard. I walked into the room she stood in and saw Akisame standing across from her. She had a playbook in her hand and was reciting lines from it.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"I got the part of Juliet in the school play!" Miu said, excited.
I rolled my eyes and plucked the script from her hands.
"Why is it every high school does Romeo and Juliet?" I asked. "Why not Hamlet or Macbeth or a Midsummer Night's Dream? Romeo and Juliet is so overdone."
"Well, I only have a few days to memorize my lines," Miu pouted, holding out her hand for the script.
"You need to say your lines better than that," I said. "That was terrible."
"I know," Miu sighed.
"You need to say it more naturally," I suggested. "Don't force it. Like this." I turned to Akisame.
"Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, which mannerly devotion shows in this; For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss," I said, holding up my hands so that my palms where turned towards him. Akisame smiled and looked down at me.
"Have not saints lips," he asked, his voice an octave deeper, "and holy palmers too?" He placed his hands on mine so our palms were pressed together.
"Ay," I said, "pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer."
"O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do," he said, his voice full of passion and urgency. "They pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair."
"Saints do not move," I said coyly, "though grant for prayers' sake."
"Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take," he begged, bowing his head. "Thus from my lips, by yours, my sin is purged." He pressed a quick kiss to my lips.
"Then have my lips the sin that they have took," I said, softly.
"Sin from thy lips?" he asked. "O trespass sweetly urged! Give me my sin again." He kissed me again his lips linger for longer than necessary as he regarded me with an unreadable expression. My breath lodged in my chest and I was embarrassed when the next line came our more as a whisper.
"You kiss by the book," I said, lacing my fingers with his. He smiled gently and I wandered about the mysterious look in his eyes.
I jumped when I heard clapping behind me and turned to see Miu, Apachai, Kenichi, Kensei and the Elder all standing in the doorway, applauding.
"Bravo, young lady," Hayato said.
"We should do our own version of Romeo and Juliet at the Dojo," Kenichi said.
I blushed at the compliments and turned to Miu.
"See," I said. "Just act natural."