Chapter Three

The next week, Momiji found Dark-hair waiting outside the school walls again, leaning nonchalantly with his eyes closed against the sun-baked brick as the breeze teased his raven hair. Lazily one eyelid drifted open to catch Momiji staring at him, slack-jawed. Uncrossing his arms and pushing himself away from the wall, he sauntered over to where she stood and stood in front of her, smirking slightly at her expression.

"Why, hello again Momiji," he purred, the sound rubbing across her skin like fur, sending shivers down her back.

"Ho-how do you know my name? Who are you?" Momiji stuttered out, Kusanagi's ominous warnings from yesterday ringing fresh in her memory. After careful contemplation last night she had decided that her slightly paranoid watchdog may have had a point, and she would make an effort to figure out who this strange man was before making a fool of herself again. Caution would be the word of the day, she had decided.

"I make it my business to know a great deal about you, Momiji." He replied, and her brain decided to run with that one far too many places. Gritting her teeth, she mentally hauled herself back into the present to blink up at the strange man in surprise. "As for who I am, I am called Murakumo." Striding closer to the young girl, Murakumo crowded her personal space very effectively, staring down at her with two exotic gunmetal eyes and Momiji could feel her carefully constructed caution melting into gooey puddles at her feet. "It's very…dangerous out here, Princess. Arigami could be anywhere. Where did your bodyguard Kusanagi get to?" The man called Murakumo arched a raven brow at her, wing-like in its grace.

"Uh…Kusanagi?" she dumbly echoed, all of her usual thoughts about the green-haired man pushed out of her mind by the presence of this other man.

"Yes, he hardly ever leaves you alone." Murakumo flashed a wicked grin at Momiji, turning her knees to jelly on the spot. "I must admit, it is difficult to catch you by yourself."

Alone! She mentally squeaked. Why did he want to catch her alone? Although not suspicious by nature, thousands of scenarios began flashing through Momiji's head and she forced her fuzzy brain to coagulate. Think, Momiji! she mentally chided herself, emabrrased by her lack of control. The only other person who could turn her into this much of an addle-brainded idiot was Kusanagi, but she trusted him far more than this mysterious Murakumo. Just be smart, she told herself. She didn't need to go proving to everyone else that she was as naïve of a child as they thought she was.

"I was beginning to give up hope of ever meeting up with you again." He breathed softly, edging still closer to the green-eyed waif. Murakumo saw her mentally stiffen as suspicion crept into those lush eyes of hers, and cursed himself for pushing too hard. He couldn't explain why he was drawn into those jade orbs, what sort of spell they were casting and why he was still standing there staring at her idiotically when he could snatch her away right now. Grab her, fool! A tiny voice screamed at him. She's alone, she's vulnerable, the time is now! But the voice was suddenly washed away in a flood of emerald. They were beautiful eyes, he finally admitted. Deep pools that any man or beast fool enough to stare at long enough would fall in and drown. Too late, Murakumo began to realize that he too was slipping beneath those waters, drowning happily without a second thought.

Just once, he told himself, staring at her soft pink mouth. One little kiss, it will cement her trust. Then next time…he told himself, knowing the real reason that he was about to make this huge mistake was simply because he couldn't or wouldn't fight free of the emerald cobwebs his mind was wrapped up in. Leaning closer, he placed one hand in her silky auburn hair as she stared wide-eyed up at him. Grey eyes bored intensly into green, and Momiji's mouth opened slightly in shock. Omigawsh! She thought. He's going to kiss me!! She barely had time to close her eyes before she felt his lips on hers, brushing lightly at first as if in deferance to her young age. It was chaste, butterfly light as his lips danced across her own. Momiji felt his other arm circle her from behind as her bag fell from her nerveless fingers with a soft 'thud'. Suddenly, Murakumo increased the pressure on her lips, crushing her to him as all pretense of chastity flew out the window. Momiji felt something hot and wet on her lips before she realized it was a tongue, and in shock her lips parted slightly, giving Murakumo the opportunity he wanted. As he began to push his tongue into her soft mouth reason came crashing back to him like a load of bricks and he shoved the girl away from him, panting as he tried to regain his control. What in the HELL??? He kept asking himself. Staring at her, her cheeks rosy and lips slightly swollen from the pressure of the kiss, he felt panic well up inside himself and deperately tried maintain his composure.

"I-I.." he stammered, shoving a hand into his thick hair distractedly. Turning to look at her once again, he suddenly caught sight of a green-haired figure standing a few feet away by the school wall, watching the scene intently. Cursing to himself as he realized that the last person he wanted to see what just happened HAD seen what just happened, Murakumo leaped into the air and sped away, hoping that he had not just made the biggest mistake of his ancient life so far.

Momiji, after taking a moment to gather up her scattered wits, bent down to pick back up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. A first kiss! She thought dazedly, feeling as if she was walking through the inside of a cloud. Everything was fuzzy and she didn't seem to be focusing right. Just as she was turning towards home her eyes widened in surprise as she caught sight of the person leaning against the brick wall a few feet away.

"Um…Kusanagi!" she forced out, gulping audibly as she saw the look in his eyes and the set of his jaw. Yup. He was definitely pissed. Cringing, she braced herself for the upcoming onslaught; he would surely yell and stomp and call her a thousand different names for behaving like an idiot. Instead he just pushed away from the wall and stalked towards her, looking more like the giant cat his eyes resembled than she had ever seen before. His body absolutely vibrated with contained anger, and Momiji knew she was really in for it this time.

"Kusanagi, I'm sorry, I know, consorting with the enemy and all, right? I'm sorry.." Momiji began apologizing profusely, hoping to head off the brunt of his anger before trailing off as she saw the look in his eyes. Pouncing furiously Kusanagi grabbed her jaw roughly and tipped her head up towards his, cat-eyes scanning hers intensely, taking in her shining eyes, swollen lips, and still pink cheeks. Narrowing his eyes he dropped his hand and stepped back, nostrils flaring in anger and dissapointment. Momiji knew she had really let him down this time. She tried so hard to prove she wasn't just a naïve idiot or child to be babysat and then she went and got herself into positions like this!

"Kusanagi," she began again, deperately wanting to erase the look of dissapointment in his eyes before she was cut off roughly by a wave of his hand, much like a parent to a child. Angered at this, Momiji clenched her teeth. She knew she was dumb, she knew she was naïve, but he didn't have to treat her like a child! "Now look here Kusanagi!" she started furiously. "I'm not a child, stop treating me like one! Until you prove to me that this Murakumo is the devil incarnate or working for the Arigami, just leave us alone and quit babysitting me! I can take care of myself!"

Bracing herself for argument she had surely launched, Momiji was startled when he just stormed back over to her, staring down into her eyes menacingly with his arms crossed. "Little fool!" was all he hissed out through clenched teeth before he suddenly bounded away, leaving a deflated and hurt Momiji behind to try and contain her tears.

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