Chapter 4

Kusanagi leaped from rooftop to rooftop with the fervor of a man chased by wolves, anger and dissapointment burning in his veins and fueling his hasty departure. Clenching his teeth, he let the rage push his body higher and faster until, finally spent, he dropped to the ground amidst the trees outside of Mr. Kunikida's house. He knew it would still be awhile before Momiji made it here, but it was his responsibility to watch her, even when she was at home. Taking advantage of his time alone, Kusanagi paced furiously in the underbrush, shadowed by the huge trees and bracken growing around him. Why had she done it? Did she not listen to a word he ever said to her? Answering his own question, Kusanagi knew that Momiji only payed attention to a quarter of the advice he gave her, and heeded even less. But still, he had never thought she could sink to such levels of stupidity!

"Consorting with the enemy…" he mocked Momiji's voice and tone. Consorting indeed! That little fool had left herself wide open to God knows what! They still had no clue who this Murakumo was and why he had taken such an interest in Momiji. It was obvious to Kusanagi that the man had mitamas like he did, and that he must have more that Kusanagi because he was able to truly fly. But that didn't make him more trustworthy, it made him less! Why was he the only one who saw this? Growling in frustration, Kusanagi jammed a hand through his thick green hair and then rubbed his face, trying to gain control over his emotions. He was puzzled by the ferocity of his reaction; he knew that the betrayal and anger he felt cut deep but couldn't explain it's source.

Every time he thought he would succeed in getting the upper hand his minds eye would shove that picture in front of his face, Momiji practically melting into the arms of that long-haired freak as he KISSED her, and the rage would flare up even higher than before. Snarling in anger, Kusanagi rammed his fist into the nearest tree, then extended his blades and proceeded to turn the trunks of the nearest five trees into barkdust. Why was he so angry?! Desperately attempting to regain control, Kusanagi forced himself to pause and take deep breaths. Talk to someone, that's it! He needed to get someone elses opinion about that creepy newcomer. If he could convince the TAC that this Murakumo was dangerous maybe he wouldn't be feeling this way. He wouldn't feel as if he was the only one who saw how dangerous this guy was and why Momiji needed to stay away from him.

Having finally decided on a course of action, Kusanagi felt the edge on his emotions dull. That was how he lived his life, action to action. Not emotion to emotion. He wasn't sure how to handle these feelings and it made him uncomfortable that he couldn't pinpoint a source. He needed something to do, someone to beat up. Where's an arigami when you need one? He grinned wryly, and decided he would try talking to Ryoko first. She seemed the most suspicious one, her experience on the police force would have taught her to take nothing for granted. With his decision made and plenty of time before Momiji made it home, Kusanagi brushed a few splinters off his coat and bounded back towards the TAC headquarters to seek out Ms. Takeuchi.

~*~*~

Ryoko Takeuchi could feel her eyebrows inching further and further up her forehead as she listened to Kusanagi relate the story of that afternoons proceedings to her. Everyone else was on break and she had been alone at her desk in the room when a tall shadow had thrown itself over her papers. Glancing up, she had been surprised to see the young half-arigami standing before her desk, looking slightly uncomfortable and out-of-sorts. Immediately Ryoko's thoughts had flashed to Momiji and she jumped to her feet.

"What is it Kusanagi?? It it Momiji? Is she ok?" Ryoko asked him, her voice threaded through with worry and concern. At the mention of Momiji's name Ryoko saw Kusanagi's face darken and his eyebrown draw together in a frown. Puzzled, she stared at his waiting for a response.

"Momij's fine, nothings wrong. Well, nothing is immediately wrong." Kusanagi said, and began pacing in fron of Ryoko's desk , running one hand through his hair absently. Settling back down, Ryoko waited for Kusanagi to continue his explanation. As he came to rest in a chair next to her desk and launched into it, voicing his concern over the character of this Murakumo, Ryoko could feel herself nodding along with him. Even if Murakumo had done nothing to prove he was the bad guy, he had yet to come right out and say he wore white. She believed that discretion was the better part of valour and they had better take this one slowly. When Kusanagi saw that Ryoko was in agreement with him, he began to relate the events of the last hour to her, leaving a dumbfounded Ryoko to stare at him blankly.

"He did what?" she finally choked out, her blue eyes widening in shock, stunned that things had gotten this out of hand so fast. She had teased the girl about the stranger, but she had never actually thought anything would come of Momiji's crush.

"He kissed her!!" Kusanagi spat out venemously, and Ryoko could see his cat eyes narrow in anger. Leaping up from his chair, Kusanagi began pacing again in front of her with a ferocity that was unrivaled, waving his arms wildly and spouting streams of insults, berating Momiji for her naivety, stupidity, gullibility, idiocy, innocence, and any of a thousand other things he could think of. Watching this display with amusement, Ryoko began to chuckle as a thought formed in her mind and took hold. Hearing the sounds of laughter from behind the desk Kusanagi rounded on Ryoko furiously, opening his mouth to ask what was so funny when he was stopped by the expression on her face. Still chuckling, Ryoko raised an eyebrow at Kusanagi and grinned.

"Why, Kusanagi…" she drawled. "I do believe that you are jealous!!"

Kusanagi's mouth flew open in automatic protestation when he was suddenly stopped mid-word as the full impact of Ryoko's words hit him like a Mack truck. Sinking silently back into the chair he had pulled up earlier Kusanagi could feel his mouth open and close like a fish. Jealous? Him? Jealous??? But that would have to mean…Dear God! Kusanagi groaned and put one hand over his face, sinking further into the chair as he finally realized what everyone else had known for ages. He really did love that silly girl! He was absolutely, madly, idiotically in love with Momiji!

Ryoko couldn't help but laugh as Kusanagi peered up at her, the absolute picture of misery. Finally that baka boy had gotten the idea! Still grinning, Ryoko got up and patted the dejected arigami on the arm.

"Don't worry Kusanagi. Being in love with Momiji isn't a death sentence you know."

"Yes but…" Kusanagi trailed off, and Ryoko looked at him expectantly. "Well, it's a lost cause! She's in love with Murakumo. He ws her first kiss! That should have been me! What can I do now, Ryoko? I think I've already lost her."

Sighing, Ryoko shook her head in wonderment at the absolute thick-headedness of this man. Were all guys this dense? "Kusanagi, Momiji loves you. Trust me, we all know. She has loved you way before this Murakumo came onto the scene. You can't just give up without a fight, you know. You just have to re-convince her that you are the most attractive man she knows. You're handsome, show it off. Try some different clothes, bring her gifts, do anything but just give up! If she knew that you were really interested in her, she would forget about Murakumo in an instant." Ryoko smiled cheerily, hoping her little pep talk would help out the poor lump of misery that was occupying her deskspace.

Kusanagi straightened in his chair a little, determination echoing in all the lines of his face. She was right! The only way now was to fight back.. He couldn't let this long-haired freak take what belonged to him! Jumping to his feet, Kusanagi ran to the window and threw a quick "Thanks, Ryoko!" over his shoulder before bounding out onto the Tokyo rooftops and heading towards Momiji's house. Smiling, Ryoko could only wish the poor guy luck. It's about time! she thought with a smile, and settled back down in her seat to finish her paperwork.

To be Continued...

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