Disclaimers: Mouse-chan’s Lawyer: My client does not own, and never will own, anything that has to do with the characters listed below. Any attempt to sue my client will result in my client laughing directly into your face and showing you her extremely empty bank account. The universities listed below are, likewise, fictitious. Do not attempt to contact and/or enroll in the universities listed below. Any attempt to do so will result in my client slapping you in the face and pointing you in the direction of this disclaimer, which plainly states that the universities listed below do not, in fact, exist.

Warnings: Tasuki language, but not as much as in previous chapters. ^_^ Sappy. But Kaze-chan says it’s not too bad. ^_^

Notes: I really like writing this story, even though it’s kinda sappy! ^_^ As always, thanks to my pal and editor Kaze-chan for assuring me this chapter was okay to post. ^_^ And thanks to my French professor for giving me my French take-home final exam a few days early, so I could start procrastinating early by writing more fan fiction. ^_^ And of course, thank you, whoever’s reading this! I hope you like it! ^_^

"Taka!" exclaimed Miaka, jumping to her feet. "Of course I know him; of course I do!" She ran over to Saihitei and wrapped her arms around his waist. "I’ve missed you…I’ve missed you so much!" He smiled and hugged her back, his hair falling down over his face as he bent his head.

"Ryuuen! Dude!" Genrou nudged me again, muttering under his breath. "Fuckin stop it, man."

With a click, I snapped my jaw shut, the slightest bit overwhelmed with the situation. As Saihitei turned to hang up his coat, I twisted in the couch and slumped down until most of my legs were hanging off the end, hugging myself around the middle and wondering why the hell I couldn’t escape this guy. I’d been looking forward to a nice evening with friends, no awkwardness, no nothing. But now, no matter how hard I tried, I wouldn’t be able to see Saihitei as just a friend. There’d always be the jacket thing, and the coffee thing, and, oh, the fact that he’d saved me from potential trauma like I was some sort of damsel in distress. No matter how hard I tried, the awful possibility that he might be interested in me like that always hung in the back of my mind.

"You go have a seat by Ryuuen," Miaka instructed Saihitei when their tender moment had ended. Gee, THANKS, Miaka. "Taka and I are gonna go make some snacks; Doukun, will you open the door when Myojuan gets here, please?"

"MORE snacks?!" Genrou groaned as he flopped back in his seat. "We just came from a fuckin party where she fuckin ate all the food!!!"

"Hello, again," said Saihitei as he slid down beside me. "This is a surprise, isn’t it?"

I forced myself to smile, and hoped it was half-believable. "Sure is! That’s so weird that you know Taka and Miaka; I’ve known them since we were in high school!"

"Taka says you just transferred here; did you ever go to Perry?" Houjun asked curiously. "You look really familiar for some reason."

"No, I transferred from Johnstown University," said Saihitei. "But I’m often told I look familiar. Perhaps you’re confusing me with the young man from that movie? The one all the ladies are constantly fawning over?" He chuckled.

"Fuckin ego much?" Genrou mumbled.

"How do you know Ryuuen?" Doukun inquired.

I opened my mouth to tell him, but found that I didn’t really want to. The only person I’d told about the Chuin thing was Genrou, and for some reason, I’d left out Saihitei’s role in the matter…I don’t know why, that’s just how it happened. Genrou was so busy cursing at Chuin that he probably wouldn’t have noticed, anyway.

"We met in the park, only a few days ago," Saihitei answered. "My…my notes were blowing away, and he helped me to collect them."

"Awwwwww!!!!" Genrou cooed, lacing an elbow around my neck. Everyone laughed a little, especially since I was blushing intensely…again. The conversation shifted after that, and I found myself looking briefly up at Saihitei, hoping to catch his eye and show him some kind of thank you for not bringing up what had happened that night.

He did catch my eye, and gave me a slight wink that was almost invisible before returning to the discussion.

Blinking rapidly for a moment, I focused on the coffee table and sighed internally. I didn’t dislike him. He was nice. I was actually beginning to feel better about him now that he’d mentioned "ladies," even though I knew that didn’t really mean anything at all. So he’s just trying to be friendly. Give him a break and stop being so paranoid.

Just a few minutes later, there was a knock on the door; since Doukun was in the middle of explaining something complicated, I told him to stay put and went to answer it. It was Myojuan, as we’d been expecting; he greeted me kindly, and wiped off his shoes. I headed to the kitchen to tell Miaka he was here.

"…Exciting? We’re finally all going to be together again!"

Miaka’s voice.

I don’t know what made me stop in the hallway outside the door to the kitchen, but I did. But something about what I’d just heard seemed strange. "Together again?" I’d barely even met two of the people here! Did she mean just herself and Taka and Saihitei?

"But we agreed…we agreed we’re not going to tell them," Taka responded quietly, so that I almost couldn’t hear them. "It’d be too much all at once. In fact, I’m not sure we should tell them at all…"

"I know," sighed Miaka. "Ahhh, watch it, the pizza bites!!! ….But even if they don’t remember, it’s nice to have them here…it makes me feel…complete, somehow."

"Is Hotohori still planning on telling Nuriko the truth?"

"I don’t know. But we promised we’d leave it up to him, remember."

"I remember. I wish I knew how he does."

"I do, too. It is strange, that none of them should remember except for him. But it must serve some purpose, somehow, don’t you think?"

Frowning, I decided to interrupt their conversation before I heard anything more that confused me. They were discussing people who I didn’t know, after all, despite the name Nuriko, which I would have loved to ask them about; but as I’d only overheard it through eavesdropping, I couldn’t very well. So I swung cheerfully through the door and announced, "Hey, you guys! Myojuan just got here."

"Oh, good!" said Miaka. "Thanks, Ryuu-chan…hey, will you help me carry some of this stuff out there?"

"Sure," I said. No sooner had the words left my mouth than I was laden down with about five large bowls full of assorted chips, balancing a jar of salsa and a serving spoon on my head.

"Don’t drop anything," Taka cautioned me, "or you’ll be the one to vacuum it up."

"Has it occurred to either of you that I’m not a circus performer?" I asked blandly.

"Oh, Taka…at least get the door for him, won’t you?" Miaka instructed.

~*~

Once all of us were settled in the den—I was squished between Genrou and Saihitei on the couch, with Doukun on Genrou’s other side and Houjun on Saihitei’s other side—Taka knelt in front of the VCR and started going though videos.

"Since it’s Halloween, we thought a scary movie might be fun," he said, "but if everyone wants to watch something else, that’s cool…So, let’s see, we have… ‘The Exorcist…’"

"No no no," I said quickly, remembering my Gen-chan-in-Priest-Robes dream. "Anything but that."

"Oooookay then," said Taka. "Then there’s ‘Night of the Living Dead,’ ‘The Sixth Sense,’ ‘Silence of the Lambs,’ ‘The Shining,’ and… ‘Anastasia.’"

"ANASTASIA!!!" Miaka cried in jubilation, bouncing in her chair.

We all turned as if one to stare at her skeptically.

"…What?" she demanded, her eyes wide. "It’s good!"

"So, ‘The Sixth Sense’ okay with everyone?" Taka slipped the said video out of its case.

Miaka sighed loudly. "Boys."

I’d seen the movie before—I think everyone had, though I couldn’t vouch for Houjun or Saihitei—but I liked it, and it was better than any of the alternatives. ‘Night of the Living Dead’ was possibly my least favorite movie of all time (except for ‘Duel’… but that’s another story altogether), and the others…they were so-so. But it was always fun watching the kid in ‘The Sixth Sense.’ Man, that kid could act! I wasn’t very theatrical, myself; I was in a few plays in high school, but hadn’t been very good in any of them, so I was nowhere near being a qualified judge of acting ability. But no one could deny that Sixth Sense Kid was awesome.

I would have enjoyed the movie much, much more, however, if Saihitei hadn’t been staring at me out of the corner of his eye throughout almost the whole thing.

I knew he was doing it; it was just one of those feelings you get, that someone’s watching you. But I forced myself to ignore him and stare at the TV, not wanting to embarrass both of us by catching him in the act.

Oh, NO…he DOES like me. He DOES. What am I gonna do NOW??? I actually started to feel sick. I tried to ignore that, as well, but eventually, it got to me—the sight of Miaka gulping down pizza bites right across from me didn’t really serve to quiet my stomach—and had to excuse myself to the bathroom.

Gripping the sides of the sink, I waited for the nausea to pass; my breath was coming in pants, my head spinning the slightest bit. The mirror showed me an image of an exhausted-looking girly boy, dark smudges under the too-large eyes made more dramatic by the sudden pallor to my skin. The dark smudges were nothing new; all college students had them, and those who didn’t had probably just covered them with makeup, or something. But that didn’t change the fact that they made me look hideous.

"Ryuuen?"

A slight knock on the door.

"Are you okay? Do you need anything?"

"Um…I’m fine," I called, smoothing my hair down and opening the door. "I’m okay. Just felt a little weird for a minute."

Her brow furrowed in concern. "Weird? You want some Tylenol, or something?"

"No, I think I’ll be okay," I said.

Reaching up, she brushed my bangs back and felt my forehead, pursing her lips in concentration. She looked so much like my mom that I giggled. "You look really tired, Ryuu-chan," she informed me. "Maybe you should just go home and sleep, huh? Taka says you don’t sleep enough, and we’re not gonna do much of it here."

Who needs parents when you’ve got Miaka and Taka? "I’ll be fine," I assured her again, although my head was telling me differently. "I really wanna be here with you guys!" Except maybe for the new guy who LIKES ME. "I don’t wanna ruin the party."

"Ryuu-chan," said Miaka firmly, "while you are really quite indispensable as a friend, I think it’s safe to say that it is possible to continue the party without you."

I sighed.

"Go home and get some rest."

"I was feeling fine just a while ago," I whined, my shoulders slumping in defeat.

Pouting dramatically, she grabbed my hand and squeezed it. "I know, Ryuu-chan. Poor you. But I promise, even though we’ll miss you, you won’t ruin the party. And I’ll be here the whole weekend! We can hang out lots!"

"Okay. I feel like such a wimp," I muttered. I knew she was right, though. And I certainly wasn’t sad that I’d be evading Saihitei and his hidden glances for the rest of the night. "You promise, though? We’ll hang out some more this weekend? And you won’t just have Miaka/Taka Time the whole time you’re here?"

"Of course I promise! I love you every bit as much as I love Taka, even though the type of love might be a little different."

I smiled sheepishly. "Can I make a subdued exit? I don’t wanna make a big deal of not feeling good…"

"Sure. Here, go wait by the door; I’ll get someone to walk you home."

"Oh, it’s just across the street, I’m sure I…" I began, but she had already flitted away, and I could do nothing but wait.

Now, it would’ve made perfect sense for her to have gotten Genrou or Doukun to walk home with me, since I actually knew them. But no. OH no. Who does she send?? Freakin Saihitei.

"Are you ill?" he inquired, appearing in front of me, frowning.

Mother of God. If I didn’t know any better, between this and the seating on the damn sofa, I’d think Miaka were trying to set us up, or something.

"Yes," I replied, the sick feeling having returned with him.

"Miaka says I should walk you…"

"Um…yeah," I interrupted quietly, turning the doorknob. "Thank you."

We walked down the stairs and out into the street without saying anything else, and made the arduous trek across the road to my dorm. Like I really couldn’t have made it by myself. Stupid Miaka.

For whatever reason, there weren’t a lot of people out and about besides us. They were probably all out drinking, or watching the ‘Halloween’ marathon on TV. It was only a little after midnight, so the parties would still be going…except for mine, that is. And it was all Saihitei’s fault. What a loser. He didn’t even know me, and he had to waltz in and ruin my Halloween.

Fumbling for my key as we reached the door, I began muttering something along the line of "Thanks" to my escort, hoping he’d leave without saying anything. But he cleared his throat and said, "Ryuuen…may I ask you a question?"

NO!! Just SHUT UP!!

I lowered my arm and sighed, then turned to him, head down. "Sure," I whispered.

There was a slight pause as he appeared to gather his thoughts. "Do I…do I make you…uncomfortable?" A note of incredulity tinged his voice, as if the thought were, among other things, bizarre.

"Um…" I stuffed my hands in the pouch of my sweatshirt. "A little, I guess."

Another moment of silence.

"I don’t mean to," he assured me quietly.

I felt bad, because I really didn’t want to hurt his feelings. But maybe…maybe the truth was what he needed to hear. I’d never been honest with Chuin about how I felt, and now the prospects of our ever just being "friends" were pretty darn low. I liked Saihitei, and thought a platonic friendship would be nice, if I just had the guts to tell him once and for all that I wasn’t interested in anything else. My headache chose that moment to abate the slightest bit, which I took as sign enough for me to proceed.

"I…" I began, still not looking at him. "I’m just not used to, you know…" Come on, look at him, it won’t kill ya. After a moment of hesitation, I raised my eyes to meet his. "I get the feeling that…you like me." Immediately after saying the words, I was gripped with horror. What if I was wrong?? What if he really DOESN’T like me, and I was just being paranoid and misread his actions and AAAHHHHH, what have I done????!!!

But he smiled kindly. "You mean, in a romantic sense?" I suppose the answer to that was obvious enough, because he plunged on without waiting for a reply. "Well, I admit, I do find myself strangely drawn to you."

"You don’t know me, though," I mumbled. "And…it’s kinda scary."

A flicker of surprise crept across his face.

"I guess what I mean to say is…I’d be happy to be your friend. But…" I shook my head. "I’m not really in the market for anything else. It’s not just because we just met. I’d probably feel the same way if we’d known each other for a thousand years. It’s just not something I want right now, with anyone." Don’t hate me. "Is…that okay?"

He looked slightly confused. He didn’t strike me as the type that would’ve been turned down a lot, especially in the dating sphere. "O-of course," he said finally. "Of course it’s okay. I suppose I understand, in a way…I suppose it makes sense."

I blinked. "What…"

"I hope this doesn’t get in the way of a friendship," he said seriously. "Now that I know you know Taka, I expect we’ll be seeing quite a bit of each other."

Friendship. YES. I smiled. "It won’t get in the way," I promised. "I won’t let it."

"Neither will I," he said with a graceful nod. "I…I’m glad we had this talk."

"Me, too," I agreed. I should be honest more often!! It wasn’t so bad!

"W-well…" Saihitei made a quick gesture toward Taka’s apartment. "I’m going to return to the party…I’m sorry you can’t stay."

"I’m actually feeling a little better, I guess," I told him, "but Miaka would rant if I went back. And I am tired."

"You look it."

"Why, thanks." I raised an eyebrow. He smiled again. "So, I’ll…I’ll see you around, huh?"

"Definitely." And with a little wave, he was off.

I watched him go, and felt a tiny grumble in my stomach…not the hungry kind, but the ‘Oh-crap-I’ve-got-the-flu’ kind. My mouth tightening in discomfort, I made my way into the dorm and took the elevator up to my room on the fourth floor—usually I didn’t take the elevator and made fun of people who did, considering it pretty lazy, but in this case, I made an exception. Once safely inside my room, I collapsed on my back on the bed and wondered why the heck I was feeling squeamish again.

"Oh, nooooo," I moaned in anguish, grabbing a pillow and holding it over my face.

"No, no, no, no, nooooo…."

But it was too late. Waaaaaaay too late. And the stupid, accursed epiphany I’d had would certainly not go away.

I didn’t feel sick because Saihitei liked me.

I felt sick because I liked him.

TBC…

**winces** Questions? Comments? Polite criticism?