"Tenshi-kun, wait!" Neko ran after her. But after two steps, her foot slipped. Tenshi instinctively grabbed for her, and they both fell into the pool.
"Koneko, are you okay?" Tenshi asked as she brought Neko to the surface in a strong embrace.
Neko's eyes were squeezed tight. "Hai," she whispered. "Did we hurt any ko-i?"
"Koi," Tenshi corrected her. "They're fine. I'm more concerned with you."
Neko looked up at Tenshi. "I'm fine. Arigatou," she said softly. Her trusting eyes glittered with the setting sun. Tenshi moved a wet strand of hair out of her face. "Tenshi-"
It was the dumbest thing in the world for Tenshi to do, and if someone asked her, she wouldn't be able to tell them what possessed her at that specific moment. Maybe it was the sunset, or Neko's eyes, or the irresistible feeling of Neko in her arms once more. But she kissed Neko. She kissed her just as deeply as she would any other day if it really was the Koneko who loved her. But it didn't take her long to figure out that Neko wasn't kissing her back. She realized what she was doing and stopped.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Neko stared at her, shocked and disoriented. She put a couple fingers to her lips, as if trying to figure out what Tenshi had done to them. "Why'd you do that?" she asked as she backed up.
"Koneko, I- Gomen nasai, that was unforgivable."
Neko didn't understand. She'd known Tenshi for two days and assumed she was her best friend. Where did she get off kissing her?! She continued backing out of the pool. Her heart was pounding in her chest so hard. She didn't know what to do or to say. She just needed to get away.
She turned and ran, tears of confusion falling down her already drenched face. She didn't understand what had happened or how she felt about it. She had two days' worth of experiences and none of them had prepared her for this.
"Neko!" Tenshi yelled after her, but she didn't stop.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Mi-chan had sent him off into the woods to collect some firewood. Or maybe just to get him out of her sight, Jasper didn't know. But it wasn't bad work, and he was actually in a pretty good mood. Neko was going to get her memories back soon and he would have done something nice for her, repaid some of the kindness she had shown him.
He had a pretty good stack of wood in his arms and was considering going back. He bent down to pick up one last piece over by a good-sized tree, when something came tearing through the forest and ran right into him. The timber went flying and together he and the person who ran into him fell to the ground.
"Gomen," apologized the girl on top of him in an uneven voice.
He opened his eyes and saw it was Neko. "Neko-sam- uh, -chan!" he exclaimed, beginning to blush a little. As she got off him, he scolded himself for his foolishness. Neko wasn't running through the forest with tears in her eyes for him. She was clearly upset about something.
She was also soaked. He sat up and took off his jacket, wrapping it around her shoulders. "Arigatou," she said.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
She shook her head. "You all seem to really care about me, but I- I thought I could trust- I believed in everyone, but Tenshi-kun- she-" She was going to say more - perhaps even finish a sentence - but she began to sob too much to continue. She hid her face in her hands.
"Please, Neko-chan, don't cry!" he implored her. He took her hands in his, away from her face. "Onegai. What happened?"
"She kissed me!" she cried hysterically. "We were talking, and she kissed me. I don't know why, and I don't know what she wants, and I don't know what to do, and- and I'm so confused, Jasper-kun."
"Shh." He pulled her to him and let her cry into his shoulder, her crystal tears staining the sleeve of his shirt. "Tenshi-san, loves you, Hime-chan. That's why she did it."
Neko pushed herself away and started to protest, unable to comprehend what he was telling her. He continued, "She loves you, and she'd never hurt you. If you believe nothing else, believe that."
"Then why did she?" she asked him pitifully.
"Neko-chan�."
"Why did she hurt me, then? She didn't consider my feelings. I trusted her, and she took advantage of that. How could she do that to me, Jasper-kun? How could she?!"
"Oh, Neko-chan," his heart was breaking from her hysterical testimony.
She leaned into him, her head on his chest. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't bother you with this. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable." She wasn't talking about her most recent action, but that was what made his heart soar. She could cry on his shoulder forever, he imagined, if she would only give him a few moments where he could believe she loved him.
"You're not. It's okay." He wrapped his arms around her. "Everything's going to be okay," he promised her gently
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Neko found herself relaxing as he comforted her. She felt his chest rise and fall steadily and matched her breathing to his. It made her feel more in control, a much needed feeling after what had happened with Tenshi.
She could hear his heart beating strong within his chest, strong like his arms that held her. But it sounded a bit faster than she expected. "Ne, Jasper-kun," she whispered curiously, "why is your heart so fast?"
He stroked her hair. "I'm just worried about you, that's all," he said to set her mind at ease. "Are you feeling better?" he asked. When she nodded her assurance that she wasn't still upset, he smiled and kissed her sweetly on the forehead.
She closed her eyes, feeling safe and warm again while in his arms. "You'll protect me," she said trustingly to him. She was so quiet he couldn't even hear. That was fine; she wasn't looking for confirmation. She knew.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Tenshi went in search of Mi-chan and ran into her running back towards the pond.
"Where's Neko-chan?!" Mi-chan asked straight away.
"Don't hit me," Tenshi offered as a disclaimer. "She ran off into the woods."
"Why?" Mi-chan charged her. "What happened?"
Tenshi lowered her eyes. "I kissed her."
"I am so beating you up as soon as we find her!" Mi-chan said as she ran towards the woods. Tenshi followed her, despite the threat. "How could you be so stupid?! She's not ready for that. You couldn't wait just a little longer?!"
"I know! Just find her, okay?"
Mi-chan's brow furrowed in concentration. "I can't sense her at all. Shimatta!" *Stupid mountains! Stupid woods! Stupid amnesia!* she thought. She'd have to trust her instincts to find Neko.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Home
