Chapter 8

Nanako stretched awake and looked at the clock.  She rolled over on her bed and then did a double take, it was already nine thirty, and she has promised herself that she would check on Nezaki at seven too.  Oh well, he could take care of himself, he probably wouldn’t want her nursing him anyway.

She thought about staying where she was, but decided she had better go and see how he was doing.

Tiptoeing to the landing she could hear the two boys at it again.  Something about how strong Nezaki was.  She sighed resignedly and plodded down the stairs to within hearing distance.

“If I don’t protect her who will?  You?” Nezaki scoffed.

“For all the good you were!” Kenji shouted back, “surely you must know somebody who can do a better job?  If not we’re in trouble!”

“I’d like to see you try!  I’m doing my best you know, it’s not easy.”

“Why doesn’t she use her own powers?” Kenji asked, as if that thought had just occurred to him, “she protected herself before didn’t she?”

“Does she know how to use them?” Nezaki asked hopefully.

“No I don’t,” Nanako stepped through the wooden doorway and into the well lit living room, “and what gave you the right to say who can and can’t protect me?  I think Nezaki’s done a pretty wonderful job up to now.  I’m alive right?” for some reason the thought that Nezaki might not be good enough to be around her ruffled her a little, and what business was it of Kenji’s anyway?
“But you know,” Kenji mused, failing to see how annoyed she was, “it’s not such a bad idea, if you know how to defend yourself we could be a more effective team.”

Nanako found that this idea did actually appeal to her, “Could you?”

He turned large, sympathetic lilac pools down to her, “I wish I could,” he sounded upset, “but I don’t have the power you do.  There would be no point in me trying to teach you, I couldn’t possibly understand the limits to your power.”

“But surely,” she looked down at her own hands in bewilderment, “there must be someone who could teach me.  I can’t be the only one, otherwise there would be no point in such power because I would never learn how to use it.”

“Your mother,” Nezaki nodded, “and one other.”

“Erin?” the name just slipped from her lips like the most natural thing on earth.

Nezaki’s head shot up; his lilac-blue eyes became wide and shimmered with unspilt tears, “How…how did you know that?”

“I… I don’t know, I just said it,” she must have looked stunned for he just nodded in acceptance and turned away from her slightly.

He hung his head forward so that his honey-blond hair hung across his stinging eyes.  How he did miss Erin.  If he’d had a choice in the first place he would never have left, but he hadn’t, and there was no point to brooding on it now.  It wasn’t as if that would change anything, well only to make him more miserable and feel more the weight laid on his shoulders that shouldn’t have been his responsibility in the first place.  Yes, if he had had a choice he wouldn’t be here, but that didn’t change the fact that he was here and a lot was resting on his shoulders.

“So you can’t teach her how to use her powers then?” Kenji was either completely oblivious to Nezaki’s pain or didn’t care, “why exactly, pray tell, are you here then tail boy?  I don’t understand what you were sent here to do.  So do tell.”

“I was sent here to protect her,” Nezaki answered weakly.  He still had his head bent, his hair covering his slender features.

“That is enough Kenji!” Nanako didn’t know exactly what was bothering Nezaki, but she could tell it was something not to be touched upon lightly, “I’ve told you, Nezaki is doing his best, like all of us, and what exactly did you do during the fight, stood and stared blankly, that’s what, you were of little help.”

Kenji made an exasperated gesture with both hands and then left the room with a last promise of seeing them again after dark.

Nanako sighed, “Are you alright?”

Nezaki nodded, “Yeah I just… I haven’t seen Erin in a while and, well, it just struck a nerve that’s all.”

“Sit down for a minute,” she led him to the sofa and pushed gently on his shoulders until he yielded and sat down, “and don’t worry about Kenji, he’s a little upset, perhaps overwhelmed, but he’ll settle down once he’s had time to cool off.”

“I don’t trust him,” Nezaki said, “it’s nothing to do with like or dislike, and it doesn’t matter what anyone does or says, I get a strange feeling when he’s around, I’m not sure who’s side he’s on Nanako, and I don’t like the feel of him.”

“You’re just over-reacting, don’t be silly, Kenji and I have been friends since we were both five years old, you don’t expect me to believe that there’s much I don’t now about him.  We used to tell each other everything, and although he may not always be agreeable, there’s no one else I would trust more.”

She could tell that their talk of Erin, who ever she was, had taken more of a toll on Nezaki than he was letting on.  His features now looked drawn and haggard and his eyes still hadn’t lost there sheen of unshed tears.  She wondered if it was something that she need worry about, something that would affect her in any way, and even if it didn’t affect her directly she was worried about Nezaki.  Sure he hadn’t always seen eye to eye with her himself but he’d only ever gotten angry and unagreeable he’d never lost his spark like he seemed to have now.

“I’ll get something for us to drink,” she suggested, her talk on Kenji forgotten at the moment.

Slipping into the kitchen she poured two glasses of orange and took them back through to the living room, but no sooner had she stepped in than she realised Nezaki had buried his face in his hands and begun to weep.  Placing the glasses on the mantelpiece, she went over and sat beside him.

“It’s Erin isn’t it?  Do you miss her?” Nezaki looked as if he was about to say something but then he just nodded.

Nanako put her arm around his shoulders and slipped his head against her shoulder.

“I should stop being a fool,” he looked up at her, “I will see Erin again, I don’t understand why I’m getting so emotional over it.”

“There, so it’s okay.  Right?” she bent forward to plant a kiss on is cheek but he turned his head and their lips met.

Nanako’s eyes went wide and she tried to pull away but Nezaki’s hand was at the back of her head in her hair.  He slipped the bobble out and let her hair fall in chestnut waves across her face.  She could feel his tongue against her lips, gently stroking but persistent.  She parted her lips to allow his tongue access and moved her hands to the base of his spin to pull him closer to her.  His hands were stroking her rich chestnut hair as his tongue explored the delicate tissue of her mouth, it occurred to her that she had never kissed anyone like this, she didn’t care.  She felt his tongue stroke down the length of her own and obediently started to move it to play with his.

Nanako untucked his shirt from his trousers so her hands could explore the expanse of his back.  He sighed as her hands moved to stroke soothingly up and down his spine.

Something encircled her waist.  Nanako jumped as she realised both his hands were in her hair, but he waved the tip of his lilac-blue tail in front of her eyes.  She nipped at his bottom lip and moved her hands up to his shoulder blades, taking his shirt with it as she went, but this respite had given Nezaki’s mind time to clear and he pulled away.

“What?” Nanako gasped, her breath coming shorter than usual, “what’s wrong?”

“Erin-” he was about to continue but Nanako cut him short.

“I understand, Erin, she’s your girlfriend isn’t she?” Nanako sighed and sat back against the cushions.

“You don’t-”

“No, it’s alright, you don’t have to explain, I understand and I wouldn’t ask you to do anything you didn’t want to,” Nanako gathered her hair and quickly tied it back up, “I don’t want to know.”

“Nanako, you’re not-” but she waved him to silence.

“Don’t.  There’s a drink on the mantelpiece, help yourself to something to eat,” she wandered up the stairs and plopped down on the bed.

Of course, why hadn’t she thought of it before?  Of course Nezaki was going out with Erin, why else would he want to see her so much?  How could she have been so stupid?

Well, that was that.  Now what to do?  Sigh, curl up and got to sleep for a while, she’d been told that was one of the best cures for just about anything, and to think that was what she had wanted all along, if nothing else.