Ding-dong.
"That had better be her!"
She ran over to the door and flung it open. "Where the hell- Oh, Jian-kun. What are you doing here?" She blinked, not having expected him there.
"Hey there, sweetie. Love you too." He gave her a quick peck on the cheek, and then handed her the pile of papers and books he'd been carrying. "I brought you your homework so you and Neko-chan can get caught up."
"Yippee," Mi-chan said sarcastically. She let him in and led him into the family room.
"Are you okay?" he asked with concern. "Tenshi-kun said Neko-chan doesn't have her memories back. How's she doing?"
"Ask Jasper-san," Mi-chan grumbled, dropping the school stuff on the table.
"Huh?"
"She's out there with Jasper-san, no idea who she is, what he is, and I can't seem to contact her again!" His eyes widened as her voice raised a few pitches.
"It's okay. Neko-chan can take care of herself," Jian-wa pointed out.
"No, she can't! Even when she does, she doesn't know what she's doing. If he tries anything� If he does anything to her�!"
"Shh, it'll be okay," Jian-wa promised, taking her in his arms.
"No, I don't want to be comforted," she protested, trying to push him away.
"Yes, you do." He was right. She couldn't resist the feeling of his arms around her at the moment. It almost made it seem like everything was fine with the world. She leaned into him and fought the urge to cry. Unlike Neko, she almost never cried, especially in front of others.
"I despise him! How could she leave with him? She wouldn't listen to me. How could she change so much? Why didn't she go back to the old Neko-chan?!"
"Hey," he made her look up at him. "She's not that different from before. You know she doesn't always agree with you, and she just feels strongly about him, I guess." He smiled at her, trying to give encouragement. "She'll be alright. You too. You're both really strong, trust me."
"I guess," she reluctantly agreed, not really wanting to give up on the subject that easily.
"Ne, you want to spar for a while before we work on that homework?" he offered.
Kami, did she ever! That would be just as good as fencing for burning off her anger and worry. "I knew there was a reason I love you so much!" she said affectionately, deciding to bestow upon him a kiss first.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Here, I'll walk you to the door," Jasper proposed.
"No, that's okay. I don't want Mi-chan to yell at you." She was a bit worried that Mi-chan might go farther than yelling, but she didn't express that particular concern.
"And she shouldn't yell at you. At least with me there, she won't focus on you as much. I won't take no for an answer," he told her before she could protest.
"Okay." She took his offered hand and let him lead her towards her front door. They got there, and she halted, giving him one last chance to escape before facing Mi-chan.
He showed no signs of turning back. "What is it?"
"Nothing." But she didn't start in yet. There was a question she wanted to ask, and this could be her last chance. "Ne, Jasper-kun?" She could feel her face begin to flush, as she worked up the courage to ask. "W- Was this a date?"
He hesitated in his answer, and Neko almost decided to withdraw the question when he finally said, "I like you Neko-chan, and if you would like it to be a date, then it was, but if not� then it was just two friends hanging out together. But it's up to you."
His head was bowed in that subservient way that just made her want to scream at him to get over the "princess" stuff already. It left her feeling that she still didn't know the answer, and right now, she thought it was imperative to know. Truth was, she wanted it to be a date. She hadn't been looking for romance, but as she spent the day with Jasper, she kept getting closer to him and becoming more attracted to him.
But she didn't know how to tell him all this. So she just entered the house without another word.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Jian-wa held a hand over his throbbing temple, waiting for Mi-chan to return with an ice pack.
"Sorry! You were supposed to block it!" Mi-chan called from the kitchen.
"You weren't supposed to punch that high!" he returned. He leaned against the armrest of the couch, wishing that they had just done their homework instead. He should have known better than to spar with her when she was that upset. He also knew he needed to learn not to be so distracted by how gorgeous she was when she was fighting. It really tended to throw off his sparring. But he couldn't help it. It wasn't his fault he was turned on by a girl who could challenge him physically.
He looked up and realized that there were two people peeking into the room from around the hallway entrance.
"Hey, Neko-chan."
At her name, she apparently decided it was safe to approach him. She entered, with Jasper at her heels. "Konnichi wa," she said shyly. "Jian-kun?"
Jian-wa nodded, and she bowed. He had to laugh. "Neko-chan, there's no need to be so formal. It's okay, we're friends."
"I know." Her voice was still so quiet, and he knew she was trying to be friendly, but still felt timid around someone she didn't really know yet.
"Heki-san," he nodded his greeting to Jasper, who immediately stood up straighter.
"It's Jasper," Jasper clarified.
"Hekigan," Neko said with a giggle.
"Heisui Jasper."
Jian-wa was beginning to get confused with all the names being thrown at him. Though he knew that Jasper went by "Jasper", that wasn't the name Jian-wa had been given the first time. Still he decided it'd be best to stick with "Jasper" from now on.
He observed Neko's eyes shine suddenly at Jasper and wondered why she suddenly seemed so happy. She also seemed to get over her shyness relatively quickly. She looked back at Jian-wa and cried, "Oh, Jian-kun, what happened?"
He was still holding his aching head and wondered when Mi-chan would return. "Nothing, it's just a bruise," he told her.
Neko looked pleadingly at Jasper, who immediately offered his services. "I could take a look at that," he said quietly.
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