Blue Seed Fan Fiction ❯ Dreamer Awakened ❯ Momiji's Four-Letter Word ( Chapter 26 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

26. Momiji's 4 Letter Word









Dreamer Awakened


CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX


Giving up on sleep, Kusanagi heaved a deep sigh and opened
his eyes. Reluctant to move, he stared at the darkened window, listening to the
steady and even breathing of the girl nestled warmly against his back. How he
would like to stay like this a little longer. But he knew he couldn't.
Allowing himself a moment more, he finally rolled off the edge of the mattress
and staggered around the bed to cross the room towards the door, his muscles
unusually stiff from maintaining an uneasy balance on the edge of the bed for
the last few hours. Stopping in the doorway, he arched his tired back in a lithe
stretch, extending his arms over his head, the muscles on his chest flexing as
he sought to shake the fatigue from his body.
What he needed was a shower, he thought, bringing his hands
back down, one stopping on the way back to rub the bleariness from his eyes.
Moving once again, he made a detour to the closet and grabbed a pair of faded
jeans before heading back towards the door. But before he passed through it, he
hesitated, turning to look back over his shoulder, his eyes seeking out the
sleeping figure of Momiji.
A half-smile quirked his lips as he watched her. She was
quite a vision. She had forgotten to braid her hair last night and he preferred
it that way. Lying on her side, her chestnut hair spilled softly across her
cheek and down the blankets, following the curve of her waist and thigh, one
hand flung out in front of her, the other tucked beneath the cheek resting on
the pillow. In sleep, her face looked younger than her nineteen years; almost
childlike and she wore a serene expression: she was the epitome of innocence,
pure and seraphic.
Kusanagi laughed softly to himself at that thought, a touch
of irony twisting his lips, but his eyes were soft as he continued to stare at
her. She might look like an angel lying there, but his current condition was
proof that she was far from selfless when it came to sleeping arrangements, he
thought. With one last chuckle, he finally turned away from her to make his way
to the bathroom, but his thoughts still centered on her and her nocturnal
passive-aggressive tendencies. Momiji was quite the insidious bed-sneak - and
he wondered why, the few times that he had been in bed with her before, that he
had never noticed it.
Kusanagi still hadn't figured that one out by the time he'd
finished his shower, and could only surmise that perhaps it had been more of a
subtle thing before. Or perhaps on those few occasions, he had just been too
dead to the world to notice her domination of sleeping space.
But last night it had been impossible for him to ignore. She
had all but shoved him into the floor, hogging everything from the surface of
the mattress, to the sheets and blankets. And it had taken him a while to
realize it was happening too, because it had been done a little at a time with
small scoots here and there. Her little rear end had wriggled ever closer to
him, moving him further and further towards the edge that separated him from the
warm comfort of the mattress and the hard, cold wood of the floor. And she had
been just as subtly ruthless with the sheets and blankets too - a little yank
here and a little tug there, until she had eventually won virtually all of those
as well.
Shaking his head, and giving up on trying to reason it out,
Kusanagi turned out the bathroom light and slowly made his way down the darkened
stairway to the kitchen. He was dressed only in his faded blue jeans, his hair
dripping wetly onto the white towel draped around his bronzed neck and
shoulders, and despite his shower he was still feeling a bit groggy from lack of
sleep. Perhaps a quick cup of tea might help to wake him up before he finished
dressing for his trip to Ise.
Flipping the light on inside the kitchen, he moved quietly
towards the stove, idly using the end of the towel around his neck to rub at his
greenish-black hair, making it stick out at odd, spiky angles all over his head.
With a yawn, he paused in the task of drying his hair, letting the end of the
towel drop back down against his shoulder as he grabbed the kettle off the stove
and carried it over to the sink. As he reached for the faucet, his eyes slipped
to the bottom of the sink and he stopped dead in his tracks, a crack of laughter
escaping from his lips upon spying the heap of underwear lying there.
Momiji's underwear - abandoned in the heat of the moment
and apparently forgotten as well; it was hard to believe that it had only been
yesterday that he had carried out his little plot for revenge, for it seemed
like much more time had passed than that. Still smiling, Kusanagi reached down
and poked at the stiffly dried clump of fabric with a long finger, and an
unexpectedly ingenious and wonderful idea occurred to him.
This could be the perfect opening he had been looking for.
After all, there was nothing standing in his way anymore since he no longer had
a vow to keep. So why not seize the moment? Suddenly wide awake, he swung
around, and without filling the kettle, returned it to its place on the stove
before going back over to the sink to gather up the now pathetically rigid
underwear.
Hmm. Now to locate a place to put them where she wouldn't
find them. Kusanagi rapidly went through all of his options and then, smiling at
his own cleverness, he carried them upstairs. Safely hiding them away, he then
crept towards his own room. Putting his still wetly spiked head around the door,
the sharpness of his eyes cutting through the dimness of the room, he peered at
the bed.
All was silent but he waited a moment before stealthily
crossing to the closet to crouch down and take out his square leather box of
pictures, removing from it the flimsy, white fabric that he had placed there for
safe keeping. Pulling himself to a standing position, he directed one more
cursory glance at the bed before he once again stole from the room, heading,
once again, for Momiji's bedroom. His intent was to plant the bait in a not so
obvious place, but not in such an inconspicuous place either, so that she wouldn't
be able to find it.
After a few attempts, he thought he finally hit upon the
perfect solution, which was to put them back in the exact same place he had
found them - wedged in the back of her bottom drawer. Finally satisfied, he
retraced his steps back to his room, where only one task remained: figuring out
what to do with the underwear currently lying on the floor. He had to make sure
that she found the bait instead of settling for wearing those, and he didn't
want to leave anything to chance. But he wasn't at all certain as to how to
achieve that certainty without arousing her suspicions. As he stood pondering
the matter from the doorway, his eyes wandered back to where Momiji lay and he
found his thoughts neatly sidetracked when he noticed that she remained unmoving
in the exact position where he had left her.
Given her persistence of unconscious motion, Kusanagi could
hardly believe that while he was gone she hadn't "wandered" back to
the middle of the bed. She had had plenty of time to do so; in fact, he had more
than expected her to. But no, even now, she was on "his side of the
bed" - the middle ground having been forsaken for the exact spot where he
would have liked to have remained for several more hours - her head nestled
comfortably against his pillow, sleeping quietly.
Perhaps if he had just switched sides he might have managed
to get a couple of hours of decent sleep, he thought as his eyes drifted to
"her side of the bed". That might have worked, for her side had grown
stone cold long ago - even her pillow was indentation-less, since her head had
spent most of the night crawling its way to take over his.
Too bad he hadn't thought of that before, he thought
sheepishly. But even if he had, he still probably wouldn't have moved, he
reflected ironically, for he had enjoyed it far too much having her body pressed
up against his back. She was warm, and soft, and so curvaceously feminine - oh
yes, he could definitely get used to her being in his bed. His lips curled into
a sensual smile at the realization that not only could he get used to it, but he
was also already addicted to it.
There were just one or two things that were missing - or
maybe that should be, there were one or two things that should be missing
and currently weren't - that would make another night like last night
absolutely perfect. But all that would be remedied quite soon… Kusanagi's
eyes flitted back to Momiji's abandoned underwear, and his smile took on a
slightly perverted twist as he pictured the little slip of silk being combined
with the rest of his and her nighttime apparel.
Ah, he breathed deeply to himself, his body already thrumming
with anticipation. His acceptance of his feelings made him feel… liberated;
finally able to pursue what he wanted. And after waiting for three long years,
he found that he barely had the patience to wait just a few more hours for it
too. Kusanagi laughed quietly to himself at the irony of it, stifling the sound
almost immediately when he heard what sounded like a murmured coo and the
rustling of blankets. Instantly, his eyes flew from the underwear to Momiji and
he realized that he only had a few more seconds before she was fully awake.
Hurriedly he walked over to the panties lying on the floor and stared, still not
certain of what to do with them.
But it was too late to do anything now, he decided, his gaze
pivoting back to Momiji, watching her face scrunch up as she stretched. He
forgot about the underwear dilemma for the present to focus his attention on her
instead, telling himself that he would come up with something. Pulling the towel
from around his neck, he stepped over to the bed, casually tossing it to the end
before easing his knees onto the mattress and leaning forward, his stomach and
chest stretched out so that he was propped up on his elbows just if front of her
face, letting his gaze wander affectionately over her, so very thankful that he
no longer had to fight what he felt for her. Her eyes were still closed, but the
light stain of color across her cheeks and the little grunting noises she made
as she continued to stretch told him that they would be peeking open any minute
now. His mouth curled into a slight smile as he watched her, waiting.
Momiji took a deep breath and with a less than tuneful 'hum'
let it out. Her brow crinkled in a worried frown as she cracked her sleepy eyes
open and she couldn't help the feeling that something was out of place. Before
she could further analyze it, it was brushed to the side, replaced by a
whimsical smile that melded into a dreamy expression on her face as she spied
Kusanagi propped up next to her.
She had never seen his hair, wet or dry, in such disarray
before. It was practically standing up and cheering on top of his head and she
thought with the soft smile currently ensconced across his features, that this
was perhaps the cutest she had ever seen him look.
"Kusanagi, you look… like a giant pineapple," she
teased in a sleepy voice, reaching out and smoothing down the spiky looking
strands of hair on the side of his head, shy color staining her cheeks a deeper
pink when he captured her hand with his. A possessive look brightened his eyes
as he softly pressed it against the freshly shaven side of his face, letting her
fingers trail down his jaw beneath his before letting it go and addressing her.
"Good morning, Princess, I hope your feet are feeling
better this morning," he murmured, a lazy smile stretching across his
lips, his light, teasing tone at odds with the intense look in his eyes.
Momiji gave him a searching look and her smile faded somewhat
at his words. She felt her uneasiness quickly return as she began to vaguely
recollect how numb her feet had been the night before, and flashes of hazy
images that seemed more fantasy than real began to play themselves within her
mind - drinking hot sake, tripping over her benumbed feet, a passionate kiss
between her and Kusanagi in her bedroom, tripping over her own feet some more,
and then… sharing more than a passionate kiss with Kusanagi….

I love you, Kusanagi. The words drifted up from the
depths of her mind and set off a panic alarm.
Dear god, she hadn't really told him that, had she? she
thought frantically. Please, let it be just a dream! But then more images rushed
in on her and her rash confession was blown away by the memory of their
intensity. Images of her and Kusanagi, their bodies intertwined on the bed -
soul consuming kisses and deep caresses that had left no room for thought, nor
any extra breath for protest, and then - oh lord…. What had happened then?
She couldn't remember!! And Momiji's blood turned to ice
in her veins when she suddenly realized that she was missing just more than her
memory. With a horrified gasp, she sat bolt upright, her green eyes as wide as
Kusanagi had ever seen them and her panic-stricken gaze swung wildly from him to
her own body, down to her waist where her underwear should be but wasn't.
Kusanagi took one look at her frantic expression and the
teasing smile was wiped from his face. Something must be wrong, he thought and
one word popped into his head - Tengugaki.
"What's the matter?" he asked sharply, abruptly
sitting up next to her.
"Oh, my gosh…what?" she asked her gaze flitting
nervously around, not looking at him, "where are my panties? What happened
to my panties?" She was almost in a frenzy now.
Kusanagi remained silent for a moment. Then there was a
slight noise, almost like a choking sound, and Momiji reluctantly brought her
green eyes back to him when her efforts to locate her missing panties somewhere
on the bed failed to bear results. She noticed that he was giving her a swiftly
calculating look, his stiff posture once again relaxed and Momiji felt a tendril
of suspicion curl through her when she saw the hint of a smile that played
around his mouth. He was up to something, but what?
"They're in the exact same place as they were last
night, Princess. It's not like they have the ability to get up and move around
on their own," he told her in a dry voice.
His reply was calculated to irk her and it did just that.
Momiji's mouth tightened in irritation, but she was still too worried about
her dislocated intimate apparel to give vent to it.
"No," she replied in a calm voice that in no way
hid the riotous emotions beneath the surface, "I am quite certain
that last night, they were on my body - which is exactly where they are
supposed to be - and now - they're not!"
"What a shame that's the only thing missing," he
muttered under his breath, his gaze flickering down to her trim waist buried
beneath the covers, wishing that he had the time necessary to do a bit of
exploration. But he didn't. He should already be on his way to Ise, but he
couldn't resist the temptation to stay just a while. Just long enough to tease
Momiji a bit.
"What did you say?" Momiji asked warily as Kusanagi's
eyes slid downwards and stayed there.
"Not a thing," he replied in a louder voice, his
cat-like eyes finally snapping back up to her face, a completely innocuous
expression that Momiji found difficult to trust pinned in place. It made her
chestnut brows pull together over her eyes, which in turn made Kusanagi give her
a look that said, 'why are you looking at me like that? I haven't
done anything!'
Ignoring the look, Momiji stared at him a moment longer,
which he steadily met and her words of the night before pounded through her
head: I love you, Kusanagi. Her stomach twisted in panicked reaction to
them. She hurriedly dropped her gaze from his and missed the puzzled look on
Kusanagi's face at the shadow he had seen flit through her eyes before she did
so.
It hadn't been a dream, she thought. There was no way it
could have been. And even though she had revealed her feelings to him, he hadn't
verbally responded to her - But, she thought, trying to give herself a bit of
hope, hadn't he kissed her after that? She was almost certain that he had, and
then… and then…
Oh crap - what if they had…?
And she couldn't remember it?
Surely not?
The gods wouldn't be that cruel would they?
But if she and Kusanagi hadn't…. then why was her
underwear missing? Why couldn't she remember!? she lamented
desperately. The sun had barely risen and already Momiji felt the beginnings of
a pounding headache setting in as she desperately tried to recall the exact
events of the night before. Nervous energy began to build and she wanted to get
up and pace the floor - but not without her underwear. She just felt too -
exposed without them.
So she lifted her chin and turned to study Kusanagi who sat,
his lids half lowered over his eyes to hide what he was thinking and dredged up
the courage to play with fire and pursue the topic.
"Well if they are not where they're supposed to be,
then where are they?" She queried, her hands tensely clenching the sheet
covering her lap, unable to keep a thread of the unease she was feeling from
creeping into her voice.
"Who said they weren't where they were supposed to
be?" he challenged smoothly and then smiled when her eyes began to sparkle
with temper and she made a noise of frustration.
"Kusanagi! This is - " she ground out and was about
to add the word 'serious', but forgot to, letting go of the sheet in
surprise instead, as he placed his fingers on the mattress next to her hip and
leaned towards her, his face coming closer and closer to hers.
"You really don't remember, do you, Princess?" he
asked softly. The soft light in his eyes was mesmerizing as he leaned ever
nearer, and Momiji watched him, her green eyes flitting over his handsome
features and settling on his sensuously curved mouth when he whispered,
"Since you can't seem to remember, perhaps we can do a little something
to help jog your memory."
Jog her memory? Is that what he was trying to do?
Didn't he realize that when he got close, she might as well
not even have a brain, since the feelings he stirred within her short-circuited
it? she thought wryly. And then just as she had foreseen, all brain activity
immediately ceased, as she realized that he was going to kiss her and her
instincts took over, craving the addicting heat that she felt in his touch.
Momiji's lips parted in anticipation and her breathing began to flutter
restlessly in her throat as he rapidly closed the remaining distance between
them and claimed her lips in a hungry kiss.
She closed her eyes as she felt him slide his lips across
hers, his tongue flickering out to tease against their softness before trailing
away to move across her cheek and jaw, his hands coming up to tangle in the long
tresses of her hair, pulling her closer to his chest as he nuzzled against her
neck. Far beyond any hope of rational thought now, Momiji brought her hands up
and gripped the bare muscles of his shoulders, the hunger deep inside her body
beginning to increase. Her head fell back and she drew in a shuddering breath as
his slid his open mouth along her neck, his teeth gently nipping the sensitive
skin there while he slowly moved upwards towards the delicate shell of her ear.
"So, Princess," he breathed, his voice low and
husky against her ear as he continued to nuzzle her, "does this remind you
of anything?"
"Ungh," she moaned, trying to force herself to
think and failing completely. "I - don't - think - so," she
moaned, amazed at herself for managing to reply in something other than
unintelligible gibberish.
At her words, Kusanagi laughed softly and quit nuzzling her.
Then she felt his hands tightening in her hair, tugging so that her head was
pulled in his direction as he eased away from her neck to aim a devastatingly
sultry smile at her.
"Hmm, I think this calls for drastic measures
then," he purred softly. "Perhaps if we delve a little deeper we might
be able to shake some of those memories loose - and if not…" he let his
voice trail off suggestively, his half-closed feline eyes gleaming with a
predatory brightness.
And then he once again brought his lips against hers in a
mind shattering kiss, this time sliding his tongue deeply into her mouth and
letting it twine with hers as his hands left her hair to trail downwards around
her back. He wrapped his arms securely around her and pulled her up against him
so that she could feel the heat of his chest penetrating the thin cotton of her
nightgown.
Momiji's own hands began to wander eagerly then, going from
the smooth skin of his shoulders and running lightly down his sides and back
until he freed his hands from around her and brought them around to capture her
restive movements which were making the dangerous game he had engaged in even
more precarious. He already didn't want to stop but he knew that he had to,
for he had a trip to make, and her touch only inflamed him more.
It was time to bring this most enjoyable part of the game to
a close, before things got completely out of hand. And so he reluctantly pulled
away from her, giving one last nibble to her lips before he eased backwards and
opened his eyes to look at her flushed and dreamy countenance.
"So, Princess," he intoned, his words causing her
to open her eyes and look at him, "how was that?"
"That was…" Momiji breathed, "incredible -"
she stopped speaking when he chuckled and brought his hands up to the sides of
her face, briefly leaning his head forward against hers before letting her go
again and sliding away from her, to the edge of the bed, his back to her.
"Thank you, but that's not what I meant," he told
her over his shoulder in amusement, as he stood up and casually sauntered over
to the dresser to pick up his comb. He began raking it through his spiky locks
without even looking at his reflection in the mirror, his eyes, instead, riveted
to Momiji who still sat in the middle of the bed, looking a bit befuddled.
"What did you mean then?" she asked her brain still
trying to recover from his kiss.
"I meant did that help you to remember anything about
last night," he laughed and turned to face her now, putting the comb back
on the dresser and leaning against it to watch her.
Momiji looked away from him, feeling stupid for not realizing
that was what he meant in the first place, and mumbled, "Oh. Well, I can't
- you are - that was -" Momiji stopped, a look of pain crossing her
face, feeling even dumber for babbling like an idiot. "- No," she
finally managed, "it… didn't help me to remember what happened to my
- " she stopped again, this time in acute embarrassment, and then
hurriedly added, "it doesn't explain why I'm not wearing my underwear
nor does it help me to remember where my underwear currently are."
"That's funny," Kusanagi told her with suppressed
amusement, and crossed his arms in front of him, "I thought it explained
all too plainly the reason you're not wearing your underwear," and when
Momiji's mortified gaze shot to his face he gave her a lecherous grin and
uncrossed one arm to point lazily to the floor and say, "and that's where
your panties are," his eyes following her every movement as she rose on her
knees and peered over the side of the bed. He watched her for a minute more, her
body stiffening as he let his next words drop. "They're right where you
abandoned them, Princess."
"Abandoned?" she asked, "what do you mean,
abandoned?" A tremor of alarm ran through her at the sly look on his face.
She took an immediate dislike to the turn in the direction of their
conversation.
"You know," he sighed, the hint of regret in his
tone belied by the wolfish smile on his face, "this would be so much
easier if only you could remember… but since you can't, perhaps it's best
if we leave it at that -"
"What!? No!" Momiji desperately inserted, leaning
in his direction, still on her knees. "I need to know!"
It was beginning to get lighter outside now, some of which
was filtering into the room making it so that Kusanagi could once again trace
the curves of Momiji's body through the thinness of her gown. His body's
response was immediate, tightening uncomfortably as his eyes flitted downwards
and threatened to remain fixated upon her breasts and the curve of her hips. But
he clamped down on his desire and refused to give in to the temptation,
reminding himself that now was not a good time…
Disappointment screamed through him and he sought to relieve
it by telling himself that while he might not have time to indulge his body, he
at least still had time enough to indulge his mind and finish teasing Momiji.
Turning his thoughts back to her and seeing her intensely interest focused on
him, he allowed a helpless expression to flit across his face.
"Are you sure that you want me to tell you?" he
asked in feigned uncertainty, his eyebrows soaring over his eyes as he kept his
gaze pinned steadily to her face.
Momiji took one look at his hesitant expression and her dread
reached new heights. Her heart hammering heavily in her throat, she took a long
swallow and thought. Did she really want to hear what had happened between them
last night, knowing that besides the possibility of him telling her that they
had slept together, he might also bring up the fact that she had told him that
she loved him, while he had told her… nothing? Was finding out the current
status of her virginity worth such a risk?
Yes! - No! Oh, lord, she didn't know!
Shutting out the conflicting voices beginning to clamor in
the back of her mind, Momiji finally gave a little nod and waited with baited
breath for Kusanagi to speak.
"You're absolutely certain -" he began
to ask again, but was interrupted by her edgy outburst.
"Yes, Kusanagi!" she shouted at him, her need to
know outstripping the remainder of her patience.
Kusanagi smiled at her reaction, which he hid from her by
walking over to the closet to grab a clean shirt.
"All right then," he replied calmly, and then added
in a considering way as he pulled a shirt from the closet, "Where to start…
well, I guess I would have to say that… things were a bit - wild last night,
to say the least -"
"Wild?" Momiji echoed, her voice rising in faint
surprise.
"- You know, you really shouldn't drink,
Princess," Kusanagi informed her over his shoulder in wry amusement as he
slipped the black t-shirt over his head before turning back in her direction,
"not only does it make the bottom of your feet go numb, but it apparently
sends your sex drive spiraling out of control as well - "
"My…sex drive?" she squeaked, her green eyes
staring at him like she was afraid he'd turned rabid.
By now, Kusanagi had almost forgotten his earlier physical
disappointment, thoroughly enjoying the picture he was painting for her, and so
he enthusiastically continued as if she had never said a word, his explanation
becoming more outrageous by the minute. "Yes, your sex drive," he
confirmed and at her blank look, clarified it by adding, "you know, your
libido - your sexual appetite -"
"I know what a sex drive is, Kusanagi," she hastily
interrupted him with a grimace, "I'm just not sure if -"
"Yes, I know," he cut in with a lecherous grin, his
voice rising above hers before he added, "and you more than proved it last
night too!"
"Wh- what?" she gasped weakly, crawling towards the
edge of the bed on her knees, but stopping after a few inches when her gown was
snagged beneath her, halting her movement. "Just what do you mean by
that?" she asked him, an inkling of suspicion beginning to rise in the back
of her mind when she saw his smile. Something about this just wasn't right,
she thought. He was enjoying this way too much!
"I simply mean, that you were so - er, incredibly…
uninhibited… that you practically ripped your panties right off -" he
informed her gleefully.
There was a moment of unbroken silence while Kusanagi awaited
with great anticipation, Momiji's reaction. And when it came, he found it
highly satisfying.
"I…did…WHAT!?" Momiji demanded, her
mouth hanging open, beyond shocked, not sure if he was serious.
"Yes," Kusanagi nodded in affirmation, and then
added a shade too idly, "that was my reaction as well. I hadn't expected
you to do such a thing - that was why I was unable to stop you. - But after
the panties, I realized that you weren't yourself and so I was able to keep
you from ripping your gown off as well - "
"WHAT!?" she screeched in disbelief, still
on her knees and yanking at the hem of her gown, trying to hobble forwards,
almost making it to the edge before she had to stop again. She was beginning to
suspect that he was lying because Momiji was pretty certain that she would NEVER
do something like that -
"But that's when I knew you were serious," he
inserted, the look on his face becoming a trifle smug.
"Serious? Serious about what?" Momiji asked
sharply, her eyes glued to the suspect look on his face as he propped against
the closet door, his arms once again folded across his chest, watching her
struggle with her gown.
"About your proposition to me," he informed her and
watched her jaw become unhinged once more.
"My proposition? What proposition!?" Momiji finally
made it off the bed and slowly walked towards him.
She ignored her panties for now and eyed him with patent
distrust, which quickly transformed into irritation when she saw the feline
smile that inched across his face. Now she knew for certain that he was toying
with her - the fat head! It was written all over his face - and, like the
idiot that she was, she had almost fallen for it, too!
"I'm sure you don't need me to spell it out for you,
Princess," he remarked dismissively, his eyes never leaving her face as she
cautiously advanced towards him, a beautiful green fire beginning to kindle in
her eyes.
"No," she contradicted in a quietly seething way,
and then, curious as to how far he would go with his tale, waved her hand
towards him and invited, "go ahead… spell it out for me. Just how exactly
did I proposition you?"
Kusanagi gave her a considering look and knew that she was
onto him, but he didn't care. This was far too entertaining to stop now, and
so he gave her a sly grin and asked as she came to a stop in front of him,
"Are you sure you want to know?"
"More than anything," she assured him fervently.
"Okay," he replied resolutely, "but don't
say I didn't try to warn you."
"I'll keep it in mind," she muttered with a frown
and waited impatiently for him to continue.
"You know… it's rather difficult to find the right
words -" he began.
"I'm sure you'll manage," she muttered sourly
as he continued speaking.
"- without sounding a bit crude, so I'll just come
right out and say it, how's that?" and after a nod from her, blurted out,
"you asked me to take you last night."
Momiji couldn't help it. Her body stiffened in shock, not
quite believing that he would dare say such a thing and found herself repeating
that four-letter word that seemed to constantly be on the tip of her tongue this
morning. "WHAT!?" Shock and outrage mingled in her voice as she
stared up into Kusanagi's mischievous face.
" - I couldn't believe it -" he went right on
going, not bothering to hesitate even as she began speaking at the same time, no
longer willing to sit quietly and listen to his outrageous explanation.
"There is NO WAY -" she began
passionately.
"You actually threw yourself at me -" he
continued with relish, his voice rising above her softer one.
"- that I- " Momiji cut in, refusing to let the
strength of his voice overpower hers.
"- and you demanded that we have hot… steamy… SEX
-" he was thoroughly enjoying himself now, watching the furious color
begin to spill into Momiji's face at his emphasis on the word 'sex".
"- would EVER say - " she declared
emphatically, her temper flaring as she watched Kusanagi's smile become even
bigger as he witnessed her embarrassment.
" - you know," he added for extra measure, as
even her ears became red, "WILD… JUNGLE…LOVE!"
"- such COMPLETE and UTTER… CRAP!!!" she yelled
at the top of her lungs, her chest heaving indignantly so that Kusanagi finally
let his eyes slide downwards to glance hungrily at her before forcing himself to
look away and back up at her face.
Kusanagi's chuckle was a bit strained and he gave her a
crooked smile, "… So you're not willing to buy that, eh,
Princess?"
"Kusanagi!" she gritted out between her teeth and
took a step closer to him, her hands fisted by her sides, "I think - I'm
going - to KILL YOU!"
She launched herself at him and he laughed. Before she could
do any serious damage, however, Momiji found herself caught in his arms as they
came up and encircled her, pulling her into a close embrace that immediately
took all of the wind out of her sails. It was impossible for her to stay mad at
him, she thought peevishly. Especially when he held her like this. Her cheek was
pressed against the softness of his shirt and she heard his voice rumble in her
ear as he brought a hand up to her hair and slowly ran it down it's silky
length.
"Little idiot," he said softly, using his other
hand to put a finger beneath her chin and lift it upward so that he could look
into her eyes. "You don't remember anything, Momiji, because nothing
happened last night."
"But what about my underwear - " she began and he
interrupted her.
"That was entirely my fault," he told her with a
wry twist to his lips, his thumb gently stroking against her cheek, "it
should never have happened," and then when he saw the sudden stricken look
in her eyes quickly added, "- but not for the reasons that your thinking.
Momiji - " he stopped, feeling awkward, and then finally managed, "-
about last night… we need to have a talk - "
Momiji's stomach clenched in knots, and she pulled away
from him to look into his face. His expression told her nothing, so she turned
away from him, suddenly feeling vulnerable and exposed. Her eyes lit on the
panties lying on the floor and she started towards them while he continued
speaking in uncomfortable accents.
"But not right now. There is something that I need to do
this morning. It shouldn't take me long," he told her slowly, an idea
forming in his mind as he watched her move towards her underwear. He stepped in
her direction then, carefully gauging her movements as he continued speaking.
"I want you to wait for me here, and then when I get back - " he
stopped speaking as she bent to retrieve the silk panties and closed in. His
timing had to be just right. "Here," he offered helpfully, making his
move, "let me get those for you."
Moving swiftly, he bumped into her rear end causing her to
stumble forward, and then he reached down and yanked at the silk as hard as he
could, knowing that they were caught under Momiji's foot. There was a sharp
rending sound as he pulled them free and he watched Momiji straighten and spin
around, a look of dismay on her face as she gazed at the panties he held in
front of her, now torn apart.
Success! He thought exultantly doing his best to keep his
face devoid of any expression.
"Oh, no!" Momiji groaned and took the silk from his
fingers, looking at the irreparable damage done to fragile material.
"I'm sorry, Momiji," Kusanagi murmured, truly
feeling a pang of remorse at the look on her face.
"No," she mumbled, "it's not your fault -
I'm just so clumsy," she explained.
Kusanagi didn't say anything, but now he felt like a heel.
He would make it up to her, he vowed to himself, but not now. Right now, he
needed to be in Ise. He took a step towards her and called her name, drawing her
attention back to him for the moment.
"It's getting late, and I need to go now, Momiji, but
I want you to stay here," he reiterated, his eyes solemn as he looked at
her, "until I get back. I need to talk to you. It's important."
Momiji's eyes flitted across Kusanagi's face, looking for
anything that might offer her a small ray of hope, but she could still find
nothing. Again she began to panic, worrying that he hadn't been ready to hear
her confession and that in telling him she had made a grievous error.
"But I have to go pick up Noa," she protested
weakly, thinking of ways to try and delay their 'talk'.
"Wait for me to come back," he repeated
insistently, "and we'll go together."
Seeing his look of determination, she knew that she could not
delay the inevitable and so she nodded numbly. That seemed to satisfy him, and
after one, more, hard look at her, he turned to go. He bade her goodbye as he
strolled through the door and she responded weakly, still standing glued to the
spot, too caught up in her worries to even bother asking where he was going.