I lied. Instead of shrinking like the first part, or being the size I
anticipated, this baby grew on me. Now the whole thing will be a total of
140K. So I'm sending the remaining 100K out in two parts. The third part is
actually done, I merely have to do one more revision on it. It should be out
either tomorrow or the next day.


Xxxxxxxxxxx

Between classes, Mitsuki located the object of her hunt: the last row of
classroom 2-C, two seats to the left of the window. He was leaning on the
back two legs of his chair while his feet were propped up on the desk. His
uniform was open at the collar. He was trying painfully to act non-chalant,
an effect he was halfway succeeding at. The only thing missing was a
cigarette dangling from his mouth.

Saccharine smile plastered on her face, Mitsuki sat down in the empty seat
next to the senior and said in ecstatically happy tones, "Sanosuke."

Sanosuke's previous relaxed posture changed as he returned his chair to four
legs and leaned forward to smile at Mitsuki. He grinned wolfishly at her,
showing off a perfect set of teeth. "Hey, Sanada. Finally come to your
senses and dumped that wimp, Yotsuga, so you can go out with a real man?"

Mitsuki was torn between saying, "But I don't see any around," to defending
Kazuki by claiming that if Sanosuke was ten times the man he currently was,
he might be worthy enough to lick the sweat off Kazuki's balls. There were a
dozen ways to deflate his ego, but it was hard choosing the most effective
way to go about it. Her acerbic reply met a silent demise in her mind as she
recalled that she needed this lecherous idiot for her scheme to work, though
his open arrogance nearly made her walk off and choose someone else.

She reevaluated Sanosuke. Conceited jerk though he was, there was no
shortage of girls that were eager to go out with him when he asked.
Alternate captain on both the soccer and baseball teams, he was a star
athlete, extremely handsome, and came from a wealthy family whose money he
spent enthusiastically. All of those factors interested Mitsuki about as
much as his ability to convert oxygen into carbon dioxide, which she had
made clear the handful of times Sanosuke had asked her out. He hadn't been
able to understand how she could reject him so casually when practically no
other girl had. It was ironic, since Mitsuki couldn't understand why any of
them would want to go out with him. The contrast made her realize how
different other girls' standards were from hers. Lesser standards, as far as
Mitsuki was concerned. However, if Sanosuke's attributes served as an
effective lure to the school of hungry fish that were her fellow women, they
would aid Mitsuki well in the execution of her plan.

"For your information I'm not going out with Kazuki," she said, unable to
keep a touch of anger from her voice. "And I'm not here to ask you out."

That seemed to deflate Sanosuke, but only slightly. "So why are you here?"

This was going to be the tricky part. She had to make it sound convincing.
"I'm here on behalf of my cousin, Mitsuki Rara. She wants to go out with
you."

That perked Sanosuke's interest far more than when he had first thought
Mitsuki dropped by to ask him out. That made her twice as irritated as
before.

Sanosuke positively cooed. "Well, that is an interesting development. I
thought she was interested in Yotsuga, too. I was getting worried all the
hot-looking girls around here had lost their minds and were going for
pussies like him."

Again Mitsuki had to fight the urge to defend Kazuki. She held her tongue
and said in quick, biting words, "Well, I heard her say she was interested
in you and was hoping you would ask her out tonight."

He smirked. "It's nice to see good taste wins out after all."

Mitsuki resisted the urge to wipe the smirk off with her fist. This was not
turning out the way she had envisioned. The longer she talked with Sanosuke,
the more she reluctant she was to set Rara up with this ape. It had been a
lot easier setting up Yayoi. Mitsuki had not been anywhere as near as
troubled about that plan.

Rising to his feet, Sanosuke said, "I think I'll track her down right now
and relieve her of that awful burden of wondering whether or not I'll let
her go out with me."

"No!" Mitsuki shot to her feet and placed stood in front of him so he
couldn't get past.

"Why not? I thought you said she wanted to go out."

"She does, she does," Mitsuki soothed. She had to think quickly. "It's just
I want to make sure she doesn't have any second thoughts. She's odd that
way. It's like she doesn't think she's good enough for a guy like you."
Though in Mitsuki's estimation, most rats would be good enough for a walking
piece of garbage like Sanosuke.

"She's definitely hot enough," Sanosuke confirmed. "Just as hot as you,
Sanada, which I didn't think was possible."

"I'm so delighted, I think I'll throw up on you," was what Mitsuki wanted to
say. Instead what came out was a dull, "I'm flattered."

Sanosuke sidled himself right next to Mitsuki, invoking images of a snake in
her mind. She liked snakes. Liked crushing the slithering vermin flat with
the nearest heavy object she could find.

He placed his arm around her shoulder and forced her closer. In a deep,
throaty voice, he said, "Hey, Sanada, I got an idea. Why don't you go out
with us too? Kind of make it a threesome. I know I can show you girls the
time of your lives. Don't worry about anything. I guarantee I'm a man enough
for both of you."

Seeing the lustful gaze he was directing toward her, it took everything
Mitsuki had not to knee him in the groin on the spot. The statement about a
'threesome' showed her just how much of a pig Sanosuke was. He was much
worse than she remembered. In hindsight, she wished she hadn't chosen him,
but it was too late. She couldn't back out now and pick someone else; it
would risk blowing everything. Swallowing her recriminations, she said in a
voice dripping with false sincerity, "I don't think that's such a good idea.
You see, I have this vaginal yeast infection that's-"

"Don't say anymore! I understand." Sanosuke removed his hand from her
shoulder as though she had informed him she had a case of the plague.

Mitsuki smiled falsely again and headed for the door, feeling dirtier than
she had in months. As she exited the classroom, she overheard Sanosuke
boasting to a nearby classmate, "Yeah, and Sanada wants me too. I can tell
these things."

The veins in Mitsuki's forehead bulged badly enough that people in the hall
kept mentioning the words 'brain embolism' as she walked past.

Gym class was next. The detour to Sanosuke's class two floors away meant
Mitsuki was one of the last to enter the locker room. By the time she
entered, the room was full of chatter as all the other girls were already in
varying states of undress. Mitsuki tuned out the mindless bits of
conversation and gossip as she rushed to her locker in an effort to catch up
to her classmates. The final one out was always worked the hardest by the
gym teacher. He seemed to think being last indicated one was reluctant to
exercise, which meant that student needed it the most. In Mitsuki's mind,
there were few things more irritating than fitness zealots.

She had only undone the first two buttons of her top when an idea struck
her. Earlier she had only been able to test her interest in other women by
remembering them naked. Now there was a chance to actually see some girls in
the buff and give herself a real test instead of one that relied on memory
and imagination.

Mitsuki started with the girl closest to her. Sae was standing next to her
locker, clad only in a white bra and panties. She was short and had a trim
figure. Her chest was small enough that Mitsuki figured if she had such an
insignificant bust, she would have worn a padded bra. The sight didn't
arouse her in the slightest. Across from Sae was Shinobu, who was nearly
finished changing. She was another small girl, but with a few pounds she
could stand to lose. Again there was nothing. Athletic Michiko was a few
lockers down from Shinobu, partially obscured from her sight. Mitsuki moved
around Sae and drew closer so she could get a better view. Michiko was
already topless and was just about to take off a pair of lacy black panties
that were very inappropriate for a normal school day. Maybe the rumors about
her putting out for just about any guy were true, and she had a hot date
after classes. Unlike the previous two girls, Michiko had a great body, with
above average breasts, long legs, and not an ounce of fat. She tended to
draw almost as many stares from the guys as Mitsuki did. Michiko turned
around and pulled her panties off slowly, almost sensuously, one leg at a
time. She bent over, giving Mitsuki a perfect view of her bare bottom. The
only thing that caught Mitsuki's attention was a splotch on the left cheek
that reminded her of a tiny Rorsach inkblot. It made her count her blessings
that she lacked any sort of hideous birthmark. Besides that, no reaction.

So far Mitsuki was passing the test as easily as if it was her math class. A
smile blossomed on her face as she turned to stare at the chest of 'Top
Heavy' Tanaka. A couple of weeks back, Mitsuki had sneaked a look at a
survey one of the more perverted guys had organized. According to his
results, Tanaka was the girl with the 'fourth biggest rack' in school, which
was easy to believe. Seeing those large breasts before her, restrained only
by a white cotton athletic bra, the only reaction Mitsuki had was one of
gratitude. Those babies had to be a strain on Tanaka's back, and from the
looks of things her lifelong battle with gravity was already taking its
toll.

Some 'lesbian' Mitsuki was turning out to be. All these different types of
girls, and not one of them could arouse her the way Rara had. She would have
wagered that if even someone as laid back as Kazuki had been staring at
Tanaka's cleavage, he would have gotten one of his patented 'speechless and
dumb' looks on his face. But not Mitsuki. Even as the breasts drew nearer
and she could see a network of veins under the skin, she might as well have
been looking at a couple of cantaloupes for all the att...

Nearer?

"Just when in the hell do you think you're doing, Sanada?" Tanaka had walked
forward until she stood directly in front of Mitsuki, hands on her hips and
thrusting her chest forward.

Mitsuki laughed nervously and backed slowly away. She hadn't realized Tanaka
was several centimeters taller, as well as being larger across the chest.
Her arms were substantial as well. She looked like she might be able to
twist Mitsuki into all sorts of interesting shapes, like a balloon animal.
Meekly, she said, "I'm not doing anything. Why do you ask?"

"You were staring at my tits like there was something wrong with them."

Mitsuki saw that she now had everyone's attention, and would have done just
about anything to return it to them. "Relax. I was just looking and making
sure I wasn't interested in you." As soon as the last word left her mouth,
Mitsuki knew that had come out horribly wrong. Pretty much as horribly wrong
as she could have managed.

The reaction from the rest of the locker room confirmed her fears.

Michiko said, "Oh ick! I thought she was checking me out."

With the dam broken, others were eager to join in the flood.

"She was looking at us just like Arisa used to."

"You mean Arisa what's her name who had to leave school after she and Rei
got caught doing you know what in the restroom?"

"Yep, that one."

"Then that means Mitsuki must like girls too."

Panicked, Mitsuki shouted out, "But I don't, or at least I'm not interested
in any of you." That had come out wrong too. This was not turning out to be
her day.

Tanaka led the charge this time. "Oh, so what you're saying is, we aren't
attractive enough for a pervert like you, is that it?"

Realizing if she said no, that meant she would be admitting they were
attractive, and if she said yes, it would still be interpreted as an
admission of lesbianism, as well as getting the girls angry with her,
Mitsuki instead tried, "Can we forget this ever happened?"

"Get out, you disgusting pervert!" Bottles of shampoo and other cleaning
utensils headed towards Mitsuki's way. She bolted out the door to the locker
rooms before they started throwing something heavier, like lockers, at her.

It had gone from one hell of a morning to one hell of a day.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Two hours --and a gym class full of whispers and evil stares-- later,
Mitsuki finally had a chance to make her way to the lunchroom. Ordinarily
she would have brought something from home and eaten in the school yard, but
it had been left behind in her haste to flee from Akane's lecture.
Fortunately she had enough money to buy lunch, and if luck was with her for
the first time today, it would end up playing right into her hands.

Eyes continuously scanning the lunch counters, Mitsuki saw the second
participant in her plan standing alone and serving the hot foods. She made
her way over and stopped in front of the target. Sweetly, she greeted, "Good
afternoon, Mitsuki."

"Oh!" Rara, startled out of her reverie of pouring food onto plates, focused
her eyes on Mitsuki. "Come over here." Rara led Mitsuki over to the end of
the display, where they could have some measure of privacy. Rara looked
around furtively, and seeing no one around, whispered in an angry tone,
"Mitsuki, I heard you were hitting on some girls in the locker room. Is that
true?"

"NO!" Mitsuki cringed and looked around. Sure enough, she had managed to
gain everyone's attention. In an exaggerated voice, she said, "I have plenty
of money. You don't need to loan me any." It had the desired of effect of
making everyone return to eating and talking.

Rara released a deep breath and placed her hand to her chest. "That's a
relief."

Mitsuki wondered exactly why that was a relief, but she wasn't going to ask
about that anymore than why Rara had seemed angry when she first asked the
question. There were more important matters on hand. "I've got some news for
you."

"Really?"

The hope and trust in those eyes made Mitsuki feel a pang of regret for what
she was about to do. The memory of Rara congratulating Kazuki speared the
regret through its torso and pinned it to a wall, reminding her what was
going to happen if the situation  was left as it was.

Hoping to set a good mood by smiling broadly, Mitsuki said, "Yep. You know
Kentaro Sanosuke? He's a senior that plays on the soccer team. Tall,
handsome, has a lot of money and enjoys spending it?"

"No."

Eyebrows twitching, Mitsuki forced out, "He's a major hunk." Of brain dead
beef. "Pleasant personality." Just like a limp dishrag. "Very popular." With
himself. "Knows how to treat a girl like a lady." One that hangs out at
street corners and is paid by the hour. "He's an all around great guy."
Whose greatest contribution to humanity will be donating his body to
science.

Not sensing the meaning behind Mitsuki's halting compliments, Rara smiled at
her counterpart and said, "No, but he sounds nice. Are you going out with
him? I hope you have a good time. Should I let Kazuki know, or do you want
to tell him?"

"I AM NOt going out with him." What had started out as a shout ended in a
whisper. Mitsuki decided she had had enough attention for one day.

Rara said, "But you talked about him in such glowing terms. It reminded me
of Kazuki"

"Exactly what part of that description sounded like Kazuki?"

"All of it, except the money and soccer part. Kazuki stinks at soccer. Even
D is better at it than him."

"That's true. He's got all the coordination of a monkey with two broken feet
when he tries kicking the ball. I once saw him trip over... Hey! We're
getting off the subject here." Mitsuki composed herself. "What I was trying
to say was Sanosuke has a crush on this girl, but he hasn't been able to
work up the nerve to tell her how he feels. He's sort of been admiring her
from afar, and trying to find the courage to ask her out. It seems that for
all of his confidence, he's actually shy when it comes to girls he's
interested in. And I found out today that he's finally found the guts to put
it all on the line and ask her out on a date. Get it?"

"Oh, I see." The dawn of understanding was clear upon Rara's features.

"Good."

"He sounds like a nice person, Mitsuki. Don't break his heart. You should go
out with him and give him a chance."

"It's not me he's interested in! It's you!" Mitsuki felt like pounding her
head into her tray as the whispered voices throughout the cafeteria sounded
like shouts by the time they reached her ears.

Rara appeared taken aback. "But, I don't want to go out with him. I don't
even know him. There's... someone else I'm interested in." She began shyly
twiddling her fingers.

"Gee, I wonder who that could be?" Mitsuki said dryly, wondering why Rara
even bothered with the pretense.

Rara blushed. "Uh, well. It's-"

"I know who it is! I was being sarcastic." Mitsuki let out an exasperated
sigh. "Look, you yourself said Sanosuke's heart shouldn't be broken after
he's finally worked up the courage and determination to ask you out."

"But that was only because I thought he was interested in you. If he's
interested in me, that's completely different."

"Oh, why is that?"

"No reason."

Mitsuki noted Rara lacked even the basic capability for subterfuge, which
was a good thing. So she perceived Mitsuki as an obstacle as well. That was
just fine with her. It would make what she was doing easier. "So you're just
going to casually break poor Sanosuke's heart, eh?" She said it as though it
was all a sinister scheme Rara had concocted and was confiding with Mitsuki.

"Well..." Rara looked hesitant.

"That's pretty cold. I would hate to think what would happen if Kazuki heard
how you blew someone off like that. I'll try to keep it quiet, of course,
but you know how gossip spreads around here. Hard to keep anything a
secret."

"Oh dear. I wouldn't want him to think that." Rara began chewing on her
lower lip.

"And it's too bad because Sanosuke is a genuine... nice guy."

"I doubt if he's as nice as Kazuki."

Leaning in close for a conspiratorial whisper, Mitsuki said, "I'll let you
in on a secret. I had a crush on Sanosuke even after I knew Kazuki. I think
he's even... even.... even better than Kazuki." Her lips were trembling by
the end.

"If you like him so much, why don't you go out with him?"

"Because he used to go out with an old friend of mine and I don't want to
betray her memory! Now quit trying to pawn him off on me and drop it. I know
for a fact that he's only interested in you. I know it's hard to believe
he'd prefer you over me."

"And why is that?"

Mitsuki noted that Rara's voice had dropped several octaves and her usually
placid expression held a hint of anger. It reminded her of the announcements
Miss Ra used to make on the air. "He, ah, knew me longer."

"Oh." The placid expression returned, almost as though it had never left in
the first place.

Putting that disturbing incident aside, which Mitsuki convinced herself she
had imagined, she said, "There's another reason to accept Sanosuke's asking
you out instead of shattering his heart in a million pieces and Kazuki
finding out."

"There is?"

"Yep. It'll give you good training for when you go out on dates with...
Kazuki." She barely forced out the last bit. Images of him and Rara
together, sighing happily to one another as they held hands and stared into
each other's eyes, darkened Mitsuki's mood.

"It will?"

Mitsuki made the anger go away. "Oh yes. You'll learn when guys expect you
to laugh, when you're supposed to act impressed, pretend your interested in
sports, and believe me, you need to learn how to manage small talk. You
haven't been on many dates, have you?"

"No. Most of the men I came into contact with were subordinates in the Rara
army. No fraternization was permitted within the ranks, especially when it
came to officers. And I was the leader's daughter as well, which was another
complication. The few men I met outside of the military tended to be
intimidated by me for some odd reason."

You commanded an incredible amount of power, harped on about conquering the
world, wore something that made you look like a dominatrix, and laughed like
a psychotic hyena. "Can't imagine why." Was all that actually left Mitsuki's
mouth

"Kazuki was the first man I met that wasn't intimidated in the slightest by
me," Rara sighed and stared longingly in the direction Kazuki's homeroom
lay.

That's hardly the basis for a long term relationship, and frankly, Kazuki
needs to be intimidated sometimes to keep him in line. Of course, it
wouldn't hurt if he could act intimidating once in a while when the
situation demanded it. "Kazuki would like a girl with a little experience."
It was getting increasingly difficult to keep from blurting out what was on
her mind.

"Are you sure?"

Unwanted recriminations swept through Mitsuki. She ignored them.
"Absolutely."

"Well, since it obviously means so much to Sanosuke, and I wouldn't want to
hurt his feelings. I'll go out with him once. But only one time."

"Of course." And either one of two outcomes would occur. Either Rara would
have a good enough time with Sanosuke that she would want to date him again,
or Mitsuki would see to it that Kazuki found out, in excruciating detail,
that Rara had gone out with a guy behind his back. Kazuki would feel
betrayed and never trust Rara again. The second would be a whole lot
messier, so Mitsuki hoped for the former. That way Rara could have some
cretin that would use her for his own self-centered ends while only caring
about himself. He would cheat on her regularly, and with Rara's gullibility,
she would probably never believe that he was no matter how much evidence
there was.

Well, maybe the first was messier after all.

Rara said, "Mitsuki, why are you scowling so much?"

"What?"

"You look very angry. What's wrong?"

"It's nothing." It had to be done for her and Kazuki's sake. If Rara had
kept her nose out, it would not have mattered. But she refused to, and it
appeared she had an inside track to Kazuki. The issue had to be resolved
now, before it was too late.

"Enjoy your date tonight." Mitsuki left Rara and went to sit by herself at
one of the tables. She spent the entire lunch period staring at her food,
her appetite completely abandoning her.

It was a pity her conscience hadn't as well.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"How do I look?"

"You look great." Mitsuki gave a close inspection of her counterpart. Rara
had chosen a soft blue dress with white gloves and a wide white belt that
matched perfectly. The dress fit snugly in all the right places and loose in
all the others, making her look taller and even more beautiful, accentuating
her bust without making it appear too large. Mitsuki hated to admit it, but
Rara had definitely inherited her mother's cutting edge fashion sense.

Rara's appearance was perfect save in one area: the face. She looked
absolutely miserable. It was the worst hang dog expressions Mitsuki had seen
in her life. It was more like Rara was preparing to march towards a firing
squad composed of poor shots armed with BB guns instead of a date with one
of the most popular guys in school.

"I don't feel great," Rara said in confirmation of Mitsuki's thoughts. She
appeared ready to burst into tears. "I wish I hadn't accepted going out
tonight."

This wasn't good. Her cousin was on the verge of ruining everything. "It's
too late to back out now. You can't accept a date and then cancel at the
last minute." Although Mitsuki would have paid good money to see Sanosuke's
face if he learned he had been dumped by someone. Whatever anger she had
felt toward the conceited jerk was triple what it had been earlier in the
day, and Mitsuki couldn't figure out why. He was just a means to an end, and
had never been more than a minor irritant in the past. Why was it this
irrational rage towards him seemed to grow by the hour? It made no sense.

"It's for Kazuki," she whispered.

"What's that about Kazuki?" Rara asked.

"It's too bad he's staying at a friend's house overnight." It would have
been one of the few times Mitsuki could have had Kazuki alone in the house.
Her parents were staying overnight at some research center to discuss what
to do about Zinv, taking D along to make certain she was suffering no side
effects from the artifact's return.

To improve matters, Yayoi had dropped by to mournfully inform Kazuki that a
member of the faculty that was supposed to represent the school at some
teaching conference had become ill and Yayoi had been ordered to go in his
place. She would be leaving tomorrow and be gone the rest of the week, so
she wouldn't be able to see him. Mitsuki's initial delight was quickly
eradicated when Yayoi 'innocently' suggesting that Kazuki take a few days
off from school and go with her to 'learn a few things about teaching,' and
that she could personally tutor him on his subjects. Mitsuki had no doubts
about what the 'tutoring' would have entailed, and went into a raging
apoplexy about all the improprieties of the suggestion. Yayoi's comment
about how Mitsuki should 'stop being such a little girl' did nothing to
assuage the anger. Luckily Kazuki had reacted in his typically embarrassed
fashion and declined. Mitsuki had done something to make herself feel
better, though. All that was left was to wait until the old bag returned
from her little trip and tried to violate Kazuki's room by her usual
invasion route and discovered her walkway had 'accidentally' been sawed most
of the way through.

"It's nice to see someone's happy," Rara sighed again as she looked at
Mitsuki.

The smile left Mitsuki's face as her recriminations returned a hundredfold.
It had been so much easier to set Yayoi up in the other world with the
marriage meeting. The only regret she carried from that scheme was that it
had failed. But this plan was making her have second thoughts. It was as bad
as if she was the one being forced to go on the date. What made it different
this time? Both of the girls were in her way, and she had never held
anything personally against Yayoi or felt excessively sympathetic about
Rara. Until this morning she had never really treated one differently from
the other. What had happened?

The internal turmoil wore away Mitsuki's resolve the way a pounding surf
wore away a coastlines rocks. Softly, she said, "Look, maybe you shouldn't-"

A horn honked twice outside. Both Mitsukis looked out the nearest window to
see a bright red Ferrari sitting outside the house, an impatient Sanosuke
behind the wheel. From their position high above, they could see he was
dressed in a perfectly tailored suit that appeared almost as expensive as
the car. He looked at a small slip of paper in his hand, glanced at the
address on the outside of the house, and honked again.

"This is it," Rara said with all the enthusiasm of the condemned walking to
the gallows. "What were you going to say, Mitsuki?"

"Nothing. You should get going." It was all for Kazuki.

Taking a deep breath, Rara firmed her shoulders up and thrust her chin out
boldly. "I suppose I should try to enjoy myself and treat this as a learning
experience."

"Absolutely." Mitsuki said with far more enthusiasm than she felt. She
walked Rara to the door and escorted her outside. Apparently Sanosuke had
deigned to get out of his car and head to the house as well. He bore a
bouquet of roses in hand and presented them to Rara when they met in the at
middle of the walkway.

Rara sniffed deeply of their fragrance. "They're beautiful."

"Beautiful? I could never use that word to refer to anything other than
yourself when in your stunning presence." He bowed deeply.

Mitsuki gave her back to the couple before rolling her eyes. Could he be any
more insincere? Did girls really fall for lines like that?"

"Why thank you, but you're wrong. I'm not that pretty," Rara said as she
blushed.

Mitsuki's eyebrow twitched. This was why all men seemed to think women
turned into giddy airheads after a compliment or two. Of course, Rara's
accepting the compliment meant Mitsuki's plan was succeeding, but for some
inexplicable reason she felt as angry as she was delighted that Rara would
let herself be charmed so easily.

Sanosuke offered his arm. "Shall we go?"

"Yes," Rara looped her arm through his, wearing a smile far more real than
the one she had exited the house with.

"Have fun you two." Mitsuki waved at them with exaggerated arm motions, as
though they were going on an ocean voyage for several months.

Sanosuke opened the car door for Rara. As she sat down, her back was to him.
He gave Mitsuki a wink and said, "Oh, we will. That I can guarantee you.
Ciao, Sanada."

She gave a wide smile, one that would have unnerved Kazuki from the
unnatural nature of it. "Burn in hell, you conceited piece of shit," she
said through her painted on grin far too softly for either of the couple to
hear.

Sanosuke pulled out into the street without looking. He nearly struck
another car. Luckily the other driver was paying attention and pulled out of
the way with a screech of rubber at the last minute, avoiding an accident
that would have ended the date before it began.

"Try to bring her back alive!" Mitsuki shouted, though she doubted Sanosuke
heard her over the roaring of his motor. Mitsuki hated loud, obnoxious cars
almost as much as the loud, obnoxious clods that drove them.

Feeling far more miserable than she should have considering how well her
plan was going, Mitsuki trudged back into the house with an expression as
sullen as Rara's had been before Sanosuke's arrival.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Darkness had fallen long hours before. Mitsuki Rara now had the whole of her
senses occupied as she gazed out the passenger's window of the Ferrari. The
full moon was high overhead as they drove through the countryside. A
midnight (or closer to eleven) ride had been Sanosuke's idea, and though
Mitsuki would have preferred returning home, she remembered what Sanada had
said about learning everything she could on the date and treating it as a
test run for the day when Kazuki would ask her out. So she relented and
found herself silently wishing it was the love of her life instead of
Sanosuke taking her far away from home. For a learning experience, the only
knowledge she seemed to be gleaning was how much she longed for Kazuki to be
at her side. She just hoped he didn't hear about this date, as much as she
did not want to call it that. If he found out, he might think she had lost
interest in him. He was still the only man for her, even if she couldn't
being herself to tell him it aloud.

It was times like that she wished she could don her Miss Ra apparel and just
tell him. Miss Ra always had the self-confidence and enthusiasm to do what
she wanted, when she wanted, and allowed nothing and no one to get in her
way. But Mitsuki refused to dress that way anymore, last night being the one
time exception. She was Mitsuki Rara, not Miss Ra. That other self had been
left behind in the dissolution of the Rara Army, which was for the best.
Though Miss Ra wasn't dangerous, merely misunderstood, most people,
especially men, felt uncomfortable in her presence. Kazuki was no exception.
It was for the best that Mitsuki pretend she had never became that woman and
get on with her life.

Sometimes Mitsuki wondered if that was truly for the best. There were times
when she was alone in the night, as the world lay asleep around her, when
she noticed all was not quite right. She felt as though something was
missing in her life. It was more than merely not waking up next to Kazuki
(though she had accidentally slipped into his bed the other night. That was
nice, even if Sanada and Yayoi seemed to think otherwise.) But there was
something else lacking as well. Something within her, some integral piece
that had only made its absence known with the world's reformation. She was
uncertain as to its elusive nature, but instinctively knew she would
recognize it once she found it. Or it found her.

It occurred to Mitsuki that a date was probably not the best time for this
sort of internal contemplation. Her thoughts turned back to the man that was
with her. Sanosuke had been a perfect gentleman all evening, both during
dinner and the movie afterwards. He did seem to enjoy talking about himself
and his accomplishments rather than listening to anything Mitsuki might have
had to say. Still, he had paid her a number of compliments on her
appearance, far more in both number and verbosity than anyone else ever had,
including Kazuki. The two had engaged in conversation, though Sanosuke
seemed to talk more at her instead of with her. But there was no hesitation
or embarrassment on his part. He spoke with confidence and charm. Mitsuki
wished Kazuki was more open like that. He leaned more to the shy side, like
herself. She supposed that was a good sign since it meant the two of them
were alike and compatible, but there were times when she wished one of them
was more aggressive and would find the courage to form a solid relationship
instead of the simple friendship that currently existed between them.

While Sanosuke certainly qualified as being aggressive, Mitsuki found she
cared little for it coming from him. There was the way he looked at her out
of the corner of his eye, when he didn't think she was watching, that
unsettled her tremendously. It was like a shark watching an injured fish
swim past, or when her mother saw something she wanted and couldn't acquire
it through direct means. Both were predators that stopped at nothing to get
what they wanted. Kazuki never looked at her that way, and Mitsuki was glad
for that. One of these days she would even tell him. Someday.

Aside from the glances, Sanosuke had been a sociable date in every other
respect. He had let her choose the movie and order what she wanted from the
menu, paying for everything without batting an eye. He hadn't even attempted
to hold her hand, which she had decided from the outset was all the farther
she would let him go. Perhaps he was having a bad time and wouldn't want to
ask her out again. Mitsuki found the thought reassuring, and hoped it was
true, even if it meant she was a bad date. But she had so little experience
with men, it was impossible to tell what mood Sanosuke was really in.

She was still casting her gaze to the moon when the car slowed down. Mitsuki
watched through the front windshield as they diverged from the main road and
took a smaller side road into some woods. She looked at Sanosuke confusedly.
"Where are we going?"

"A better place to watch the moon." Sanosuke flashed his perfect, white
teeth at Mitsuki.

The smile reminded her of the shark and her mother again. She saw the road
becoming narrower and the trees stretching ominously from above. They
blocked out everything, including the moon. "I thought you said we were
going for a drive."

"We're still driving," he said. However, they did not for long as he pulled
into a small parking lot that was at least a mile away from the main road.
It stood on a small promontory that allowed a perfect view of a lake beyond.
Only an aging guardrail stood as a barrier between the open lot and going
over the point and into the water.

Sanosuke pulled the key out of the ignition and leaned in close. "Now we've
stopped."

Mitsuki shifted uncomfortably. She knew she wasn't supposed to be negative
on a date, but being out in the middle of nowhere, especially with the shift
in emotions by Sanosuke, frightened her. "I want to leave."

"But we just got here." The words slid from Sanosuke's mouth as he placed a
hand on Mitsuki's thigh.

"Stop that!" She removed his hand from its intimate contact. It was replaced
by another hand that was forced behind her neck, making her move closer to
his own head as he leaned forward. He managed to brush his lips against
hers, but during her struggle her forehead struck his upper lip, causing him
to cry out in pain.

Sanosuke shot her in evil look. Any pretenses of romance were gone. Anger
and lust were all that remained as he moved out of his seat and nearly on
lurched towards Mitsuki, positioning himself so he could get into her half
of the car. "Come off it with this pure and virginal act. Everyone knows
you're putting out for that little pussy, Yotsuga. Now I want a piece of the
action too, honey. I've treated you right all night long, and you've got
nothing to complain about. It's time to give a little back."

"Let go of me!" Mitsuki tried pushing him away. In response, he
half-slapped, half-punched her hard across the face, sending a volley of
pain shooting through her brain. Stunned, she was only partially aware of
the feel of him moving on top of her. She tried resisting, but he was far
too large and strong and the pain made it hard for her to think. He easily
overpowered her weakly flailing fists, wrapping her wrists with one of his
beefy hands and pinning them against the headrest of the backseat. With his
free hand he groped one of her breasts through her dress, pulling at it
roughly and causing her to squeal in anguish.

"Quit struggling and it won't be so unpleasant. And once I get started, it
won't be unpleasant at all." His voice was a leer and his words a sour
caress. Even as he spoke he felt her struggles lessen.

"Stop." Unlike before, her voice was so quiet and raspy it was barely
audible.

"You know you love it, honey." He released the hold on her breast. He moved
so his body was directly on top of hers, almost pining her to the seat with
his frame. "I'm going to show you the time of your life. You're going to be
begging for me to give it to you before the night is out."

Her struggles finally stopped altogether. This was what he had been waiting
for. His hands went to unbuckle his pants. It was about time this date had
finally gotten to the good part.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

The squirrel ran across the open area to the acorn that had sat out in the
middle of the clearing, yet tantalizingly out of reach. He had spotted it
fifteen minutes ago and after cautiously searching the area for predators,
was going to risk running out in the open to retrieve it. But then the two
leggers' rumbler had come by and decided to rest in the open area. The
squirrel had remained where he was. He had lived in the tree for the
majority of his life and understood how rumblers behaved. Generally they
would stay there for a while. Sometimes two leggers would emerge from them,
but most of the time, especially in the evening, they stayed inside. A
little while after first arriving, the rumblers would stay quiet, only
rocking back and forth for a while. Sometimes sounds came from within the
rumbler. When that happened, it would sit there for a long time and two
leggers never came out. It was only after the rocking stopped that the
rumbler might start up again and depart. But there was always a pause
between rocking and silence that warned him it was time to leave.

This one was no different. It stopped and was absolutely quiet. After a few
moments of silence, the rumbler started to rock and two legger noises came
from within. That suited the squirrel just fine. He raced out into the open
area next to the rumbler and grabbed its prize. He paused for a moment to
admire his catch. It was a big acorn, one of the biggest he had ever seen.
He would store the food and eat it later, when the cold came and there were
no more acorns to be found.

He was still marveling at the size of the nut when the noises from the car
stopped. So intent was the squirrel with admiring his catch that he failed
to notice how quickly the sounds had ceased. A moment later, the silence was
shattered by the clamorous sound of something breaking. The noise froze the
squirrel in its tracks and caused his heart to nearly leap out of his chest.
Motionless, he watched one of the shiny surfaces around the top of the
rumbler break into a half-dozen pieces and fall to the ground, shattering
into a dozen more. It looked up to see what had caused this disruption to
the serenity of the night. Something round and with short hair poked out of
the hole that had been created. A wet substance fell from it to trickle to
the ground where the dry soil drank it greedily. The smell of blood drifted
from the opening and assailed the squirrel's nostrils. Instincts took over
as it was shaken out of its reverie and ran back to the protection of its
tree, acorn left lying where it had been found.

Xxxxxxxxxx









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