#include "stddisclaimer.h"

			       Final Attempt V
				  Strangers

	      A story by Suika Roberts, Saint of Eris Discordia
  Based on the work of Takahashi Rumiko, Takeuchi Naoko, Fujishima Kousuke,
				 and others.

	`Who's the new girl?'

	`I don't know.  She and the new guy came in together.  Her name's
something like Ginga Natsumi.'

	Usagi-chan blinks at this, and smiles, one of those strange smiles I've
seen so often since . we won.  `Doubt it,' she says.

	`Doubt what?'

	`That they're space aliens.  I know they're not human, or any type of
youkai I've met, though.'

	`What do you mean?'

	`Look at her.  Notice the way her ki flows, how it ebbs towards
anyone who comes near.  Also note the faint signature of a disguise spell,' she
draws her hand over her short-cropped hair, which somehow makes her look
smaller and more dangerous than ever.

	I look, feeling things carefully, shoving myself /sideways/ in order to
look at her magical aura.  I let myself return to normal with a sigh of relief.
`I've never seen an aura like that on a human,' I hedge, playing with one edge
of my silk shirtsleeve.

-*

	Usagi-chan's done it again, somehow managing to make friends with the
new girl already.  The teacher hasn't even arrived for our second class, and
she's got the girl laughing and joking a little bit.  She settles with the rest
of us, though, when the teacher arrives.

	At lunch Usagi-chan noticed that she's not eating, and drags me over.

	`Hey,' I greet her, Usagi-chan just plopping down close to and facing
the girl.

	`Did you eat your lunch already?' Usagi-chan gets right to a point.

	`Lunch?' she asks, looking confused.

	`Yeah, food that one eats in the middle of the day so one doesn't turn
into a walking crab or a mean-tempered shark.'

	The girl looks posilutely scared at my comments, `really?' she asks in
a very small voice.

	`No, Mako-chan is just exagerating,' Usagi-chan smiles at the girl, who
smiles tentatively back, `but it does make one feel a whole lot better.'

	`No, I don't have a lunch,' the girl looks down.

	`OK, I'll share,' Usagi-chan produces her bentou from somewhere, and
hands one of them over, the one I made.  The girl takes the smallish lacquer
box, holding it gingerly in both hands as she watches Usagi open her own
bentou, which, from the looks of it, she made herself.

	She carefully copies Usagi-chan as she picks up her chopsticks and
gathers up a bit of rice, bringing it to her mouth at the same time.  The looks
on their faces are comical, but I fight down the urge to laugh, since neither
would appreciate the mockery.  Usagi-chan's rice is a little soggy, and looks
rather like it got left in the cooker overnight.  Natsumi-chan's face, on the
other hand, is just awed, like she's never eaten before.

	Some of the youkai made just that face when they discovered candy, I
remember, so perhaps she never has eaten before.  Her pace quickly matches
Usagi-chan's as they eat quickly, and I fish my bentou out at last.

-*

	Natsumi-chan walks up behind me on soft feet, her steps making no noise
at all.

	`Hi,' I turn to face her when she gets to within two meters.

	She startles, then replies, `Hi.'

	`You should be careful who you sneak up on.  Some people around here
are still a little skittish, what with all the monster attacks and stuff last
year,' which still isn't two months over.  Five months since . . . then.

	`Thanks,' she looks down, a faint blush to her cheeks, `I asked
Usagi-san, and she said that you had made that delicious /bentou/,' her toe
scrapes along the ground as she watches it, `and to ask you how to make them.'

	`Sure!  Bring your brother, if you want.'

	`Why?' she looks up at me in startlement.

	`Because, despite what you may hear from some people, everyone should
know how to cook.  Makes life much more pleasant if someone gets sick or
something.'

	She nods, `Thanks!'

-*

	`Oh, good, you have a rice cooker, that makes this a lot easier.  Just
pour a bit of rice, yeah, about that much, into the cooker, rinse it good under
the water, being careful not to let the rice escape, good, and then we fill it
up to here,' I indicate the second knuckle on my finger, `with water and we let
it sit for a little bit.'  Seijuurou-san follows the directions carefully, and
settles the liner back into the body of the rice cooker.

	Natsumi-chan has made all sorts of fanciful shapes out of the
vegitables, but they look nice, which is the important part about slicing them
to my mind.

	`Now, lets cook some of these, so that you can taste the differences
between how they taste raw and cooked,' I help Natsumi-chan with the pan.

	A moment later I smack her hand lightly when she tries to dip her
figers in the hot oil, `Careful, the oil will cook your fingers just as happily
as it will the vegitables.'

	Natsumi-chan nods, passing her hand over the assortment of implements,
and I nod when she gets to the right one.  She stirs with enthusiasm, almost
losing things several times before she gets the motions down.

	After a bit I help them serve the simple meal, rice, pickled things,
stir fried and raw vegitables.  They inhale it like they've never tasted the
like, a possibility that I'm beginning to suspect is the truth.

-

	`Rei is taking me out for ice cream,' Usagi-chan says, clinging to the
slightly taller girl's arm, `Would you like to come along?'

	I run mental fingers over my budget, `Sure.  Natsumi-chan?' I turn to
look at the girl, `I can pay for you and your brother if you'd like to come
along.'

	Natsumi-chan nods, `That would be wonderful.  What is /ice cream/
like?'

	Usagi-chan looks totally scandalized, `You've never had ice cream?  You
poor thing!' and she lets go of Rei-chan for a moment, giving Natsumi-chan a
comforting hug.

	Natsumi-chan just looks confused.

-*

	Natsumi-chan turns to look at me, a confused expression on her face,
`What is it with those two?' she asks, making a small gesture towards
Usagi-chan and Rei-chan.

	`They're in love, but they sometimes show it in interesting ways,' I
glance at the two, who are busy arguing with Minako-chan about whether it is
possible to touch one's nose with one's tongue.  Usagi-chan's first attempted
proof would have worked, but Minako-chan said that it didn't count, since
Rei-chan hadn't always been Usagi-chan's.  This is after the two of them
getting into a heated argument over who got to pay for the ice cream, which
Usagi-chan barely won, and a short sparring match on the way here when Rei-chan
said that she could kick higher than Usagi-chan.

	`I thought,' she gestures towards a couple at another table, who are
sharing a large sundae.

	`Yeah, some people are like that, some are like me, some are like
Kasumi-mama.  People are different, and who they find attractive is different
as well.'

	`Hmmm,' she murmors, then franticly chases a couple drips up the side
of her cone.

-*

	`What did you mean, when you said that some people are like you, and
some are like Kasumi-mama?  It confused me a little,' Natsumi-chan asks,
outside the gate to Nekomi Kyoudai's married student housing complex.

	`Well, what I meant was some people only or almost only find people of
the opposite sex attractive, some people find individuals of either sex
attractive, in a more or less even amount, and some find only people of their
own sex attractive.  That's simplified a good deal, and it really should be
gender rather than sex, but . . .' I trail off with a slight shake of my head.

	`Hun,' she says, `Thanks, I need to think about this a little bit.'

	`If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.'

	`Thanks, I will.'

-*

	Natsumi-chan has been spending a lot of time with Naru-chan, and both
of them seem happier for it.  I watch from a little ways away, glad my bondmate
has found someone to hang out with again.  Natsumi-chan manages to feed
Naru-chan a piece from her bentou, and I turn back to my own, a faint warmth
trying to creep up my neck and down from my ears.

	A sudden thought rocks me, and I wonder if Seijuurou-kun knows that
Motoki-san has a girlfriend.  It isn't my business, I know, but it makes me
worry a tiny bit.

-*

	`Hey, you,' Naru-chan greets me, `I think I'll be needing a witness in
a few weeks here, you willing?'

	I rock back on my heels, a little startled.  `Does she know what she's
getting in to?'

	Naru-chan blushes, `What kind of a . . .' then trails off, fading back
to her normal color, `Yeah, we've talked about it, and she knows about Circe.
Ann's shared her Name and true appearance with me.  She proposed this,
actually, and I just . . .' she shakes her head.

	`If you're worried, you could just take a short-term oath, and renew it
as needed,' I propose, feeling the small hole where that relationship used to
be with mental fingers, hiding the wince that tries to escape.

	`I'd forgotten all about that,' Naru-chan smiles up at me, suddenly
glowing with happiness, and I return her hug.

	I keep up the brave front until she's out of sight, then let it drop.

	Finding a quiet corner I curl my arms around my knees, contemplating
the blood bond we share, more than two people, but not quite one.  Even without
the taboos about intra-bond romantic relationships I don't think I could cope
with the person I love knowing all of me in every stressfull situation.  But,
still, it hurts.

---
log:
1998: 		Much contemplation, and no writing
1999 August 16:	actually wrote the durn thing.
1999 August 25: read and did a little bit of editing.
2004 January 4:	Title block.