The next morning Shina woke up to find Long absent from the front room again. She was beginning to think that she could never predict the man, and wondered what he could be doing this time. She went straight up to the guest room, thinking she'd probably find him meditating or something. She knew she shouldn't bother him if he was, but she had to check on her guest, didn't she? She was responsible for him while he was in her father's house after all, so it wouldn't hurt to just check and see how he was doing. Once she got up to the door she decided not to knock, it would disturb him. She turned the knob and pulled the door back softly, careful not to make a sound. She peeked in for a moment and noticed that although the room was vacant the bathroom door was open. She could hear the sounds of the shower running and wondered why anyone would leave the door open while taking a shower. She waited a few minutes to see if the shower turned off, but nothing happened, so she decided that she'd better check on him in case something had gone wrong. Or at least, that was the excuse she gave herself.
She crept silently towards the bathroom door and peeked around the corner carefully. His side was turned to her and she could roughly make out his silhouette through the frosted glass door of the shower. He seemed to be washing his hair, running his hands through it and lathering with some sort of shampoo. She felt a little guilty for spying on him when he was so vulnerable, and even more so when she couldn't resist looking down at the vague outline of his crotch. Then he moved a bit, startling her, he turned around to rinse his hair under the shower head's spray. She watched eagerly as he bent backwards a bit to let the water fall down over his bangs. Then she decided that she'd better leave before she became too entranced to do so and got caught. So she went down into the kitchen and decided to busy herself by making breakfast. It kept her from being very anxious, but it didn't really turn her thoughts from what had just occurred. She kept wondering why he'd left the door open in the first place. Didn't he care if anyone walked in on him? She was sure that he hadn't left it open in hopes that anyone would, and couldn't seem to figure it out otherwise, so she concentrated on her cooking. Soon enough he came down stairs and seated himself at the bar to watch her cook. He leaned heavily on the edge of the bar, looking very tired.
"Didn't you sleep well last night?" she wondered.
"It wasn't that." he replied. "I turned the heat up a little too much when I showered this morning, and even though I opened the door to vent the bathroom... Well, when it starts to feel like a sauna in there I have a tendency to get light-headed. I nearly blacked out in the shower so I had to run right out and lay down for a bit."
"Oh..." she muttered, a bit surprised by the explanation. "I'm sorry."
"No, it was my own fault, I really ought to be more careful. One of these days someone's going to end up finding me lying around naked on the bathroom floor." At first Shina couldn't help but think how enticing that would be, as long as he wasn't seriously hurt. Someone would have to pick his naked body up from the floor of course, and carry him to the bed. "Usually I have enough presence of mind to get myself to a bed before I collapse." he offered. He wasn't even sure why he was still talking about it. Maybe it was just something to preoccupy his mind and keep him from falling asleep sitting up. "It's really not much of a problem because I usually live alone, but if I ever have any roommates I've got to listen for them carefully so I can pull the blankets up to cover myself before they walk in on me."
"Has happened before?" she wondered. "You've been walked in on while laying down on the bed?"
"Only once, but I got myself covered up in time so it really doesn't matter."
Caught lying naked on the bed... she thought, wondering who the lucky person was who caught him. "Who was your roommate?"
"Not a roommate actually, a friend who lived in a dorm right next to mine. I've always had a bad habit of leaving my doors unlocked. She was angry with me at the time..." he shook his head.
"Well you really ought to at least lock the door if you're going to lie around naked." she advised with a grin. "Especially around here, if you don't want me checking on you."
"I'll keep that in mind." he replied, giving her a suspicious glance.
"Why do you think that happens, anyway? Not enough blood getting to your brain?"
"Something like that..." he agreed. "When it gets very hot and humid it just seems like my head needs more oxygen than my arteries can deliver. Once I lay down circulation improves greatly, since it's not going against gravity, and I can usually recover quickly enough. A lot of times when I turn the water up too much I see black spots before my eyes, and I know that if I don't lay down immediately I'll probably black out. My entire field of vision went completely black once."
"That must be scary."
"I've become accustomed to it." he added, shrugging it off. "It's just an annoyance for the moment, although if I ever do completely black out in the shower I might bump my head on something and cause some serious damage."
"You'd better be careful then." she mock-threatened, holding up a fist. "If anything happened to you I'd have to beat someone up for it." He smiled at her playful attitude.
"That's rather refreshing... and here I thought no one would even notice the difference." She gave him a soft punch to the shoulder and then turned her attention back the breakfast she was cooking. She'd made waffles this morning, and they were almost done. She gave them a couple more minutes to get nice and golden while letting the table and getting out all the condiments for the meal.
"Hope you're hungry today." Shina added, implying that she'd made a lot of food.
"I could eat..." he replied. "and I suppose I ought to have a substantial meal if I intend to regain my energy and stamina."
"You'll get a substantial meal alright." she assured him, checking on the waffles and finding them ready to eat. She set them out on a plate on the table and poured another batch before joining him. "It would be more substantial if you'd let me cook you some beacon."
"I think I'll pass." Long said, busy buttering up his waffle.
"How about some sausage?"
"You never give up, do you?" he asked, shaking his head in mock annoyance. She snickered to herself as she dressed her own waffle and they both sat quietly and ate for awhile. The waffles tasted very good, and Long was sure to compliment her on them. He ended up eating quite a few, to Shina's surprise and delight. They finished breakfast at a leisurely pace and Shina had just started washing the dishes off when someone rang the doorbell.
"Would you get that?" she requested. "My hands are all soapy."
"Of course." he replied, nodding and getting up to answer the door. As he walked over to it he wondered who would be calling on Gado's house this early in the morning. He was certainly surprised when he opened the door. "Uriko?"
"Hello Master Long." Uriko greeted with a bit of a sigh. Her usual cheerful and bouncy mood was gone, the smile replaced with a somber expression. "I was hoping I'd find you here, since you weren't at home."
"Is there something I can do for you?" he asked, surveying her expression in hopes of guessing what was so obviously troubling her.
"I wanna ask you a question... can I come in?"
"Jannu..." Long called back down the hall into the kitchen. "Would you mind a bit of company? My student is here."
"Not at all," she replied. "let the runt in." Long held the door open for Uriko and she walked into the house, her gait sagging a bit. He closed the door behind him and she sat down on the nearest couch, he followed and sat down beside her.
"I something troubling you?"
"I just..." she sighed, frustrated with her feelings and uncertain about where to begin. "Do you think I'm a nice person Master Long? If I weren't your student, would you still like me?"
What sort of question is that? he asked himself. "I would have the same attitude towards you regardless of whether you are my student or not." he answered frankly. "I may not have had much reason to have met you, besides the training, but that doesn't mean I'd change my opinion."
"No, it's not that... It's just that I..." she mumbled and then sighed, frustrated again. "If you were my father, Master Long, would you be proud of me?"
"Well I suppose..." he began, trying to figure out where she was going with the question. If I were her father... he repeated to himself. Suddenly an image of Uriko's mother, Mitsuko, popped into his head. He winced in spite of himself at the thought of being with her. Uuuugh... I'm not -that- old! "Uriko, I really don't think..."
"It's just that I wonder what my father would've thought," she finally explained, "if he were still here."
"Oh..." So that's what this is all about.
"I don't remember much about my father. He left when I was very young and nobody knows what happened to him. Do you think he'd be proud of me Master Long?"
"I... can't really say. Since I've never known the man."
"Alice said he left because of me." she stated, sniffling a bit. "She said that he left because he didn't want kids, and that if I'd never been born he would've stayed with my mother."
"She ought to know better than to say something so hurtful." he said, frowning and shaking his head in dismay while patting his student on the shoulder to comfort her. She is a grown woman after all... "She's not even genetically related to you... and she has never met your father, has she?"
"No."
"Then there is no conceivable way she could claim to know of his reasons for leaving."
"But.... Do you think my father... hated me?" Uriko continued. "Do you think that's why he left?"
"When did this happen, Uriko? How old were you at the time?"
"I don't know. I can't remember. I can't even remember him much at all."
Long concluded that Uriko couldn't have been more than a few years old if she didn't remember her father, but he wasn't sure he could find anything comforting to say to her. He could have said that she was probably better off without the man if he wasn't able to care for her, but he knew that it wasn't something that would make her feel any better about the current situation. He wasn't going to lie to her just to make her feel better either. He wouldn't claim that the man had some sort of affection for her either, if that were the case then she most likely would've heard from him... if he were still alive. It would also be foolish to assume he were dead simply because he wasn't around. Uriko sat next to him on the couch sobbing, and he felt helpless to do anything about it. So he gave her the only comfort that he knew he could give.
"I am proud of you, Uriko. From the moment I first met you I admired your resolve to save your mother from the forces of the ZLF, even if you had to do it alone." But anyone can claim to be courageous.... "During the next month of training you proved that resolve to me by working hard to study my techniques. I had never imagined that such a young lady could become so focused and determined." As much as you learned during that month, you may have taught me even more. You reminded me that there are some things out there worth fighting for... even if I didn't have anything to fight for myself. Without your influence, I may very well have kept myself shut away in that cave until the end of my days. Uriko finally looked up from her tears, and Long gave her a brief smile of encouragement. "Even as we crept into the heart of enemy territory nothing seemed to scare you or discourage you from your quest to save your mother." he continued. "She also must have been very proud when she looked up from the confinement of her cell to find you as her rescuer.
"Many people would admire you for what you have done, and some of those would love you no matter what you did. You may not have the love and attention of a good father, but you must be thankful for what you do have. If you are not content with what you have now, then nothing will ever be enough for you."
"You're right..." she sobbed, looking up at him and sniffling a bit. "Thank you Master Long!" she cried, throwing her arms around his waist for a lose, tear-soaked hug.
"What brought all of this on in the first place?" he wondered, petting her head as if she were a little kitten.
"It's just that- Alice, well... She came over for a visit and we were talking and it just came up." she explained. "My mother works hard to take care of me, and she even paid for some of Alice's training back when she was in nursing school... but sometimes my mother gets lonely. Sometimes she complains about it, and Alice was trying to reassure her, but then... I don't know. I don't remember exactly how we got into that. My mother was remembering my father I guess. Sometimes she says she misses him, and then Alice says that she shouldn't miss him because he was a bad man to run away like he did, but my mother doesn't like it when Alice says things like that and.... We all just got into this huge fight."
"I see..." Long replied, frowning in disappointment at the situation. "There's probably no help for such things. It's best forgotten about. If your mother is really lonely perhaps she ought to see other men... around her own age group."
"What do you mean Master Long?"
"Nothing important." he promptly replied, at which she gave him a questioning glance. "A bit earlier I had made the mistake of assuming that you were trying to..."
"Yes?"
"It was just something about the way you asked what I would think if you were my father." he replied, unwilling to detail anything concerning himself and Mitsuko.
"Oh..." Uriko mumbled, finally coming to an understanding of it. "I never thought of that."
"Don't get any ideas." he commanded, inwardly scolding himself for even mentioning it. She laughed.
"You and my mother? How silly! She's way too old for you... and besides, you've already got Shina." Long sighed in relief. "Hey... you know what the funny thing is?"
"I don't really find any of this humorous..."
"My mother's 43. That means she's 12 years older then you, just like you're 12 years older than Shina."
"That really does put a perspective on things doesn't it?" Long asked, looking a bit pale in light of the comparison. I've never really been attracted to older woman at all, but younger women are a different story. Am I being hypocritical? Uriko laughed again at the frightened look on his face.
"Don't worry Master Long. Even if it weren't for age I'm pretty sure you're not my mother's type."
"Thank heavens." he muttered under his breath. She's really not my type either...
"She likes huge muscly men," Uriko expounded, "but most of the ones she likes aren't very smart... she doesn't seem to like smart guys. I think she doesn't like it when they tell her that she's wrong about something. She usually likes guys that are older than her too... most of them have big fuzzy beards like Santa Clause!"
"This is a bit more information than I'm willing to absorb." Long moaned, caressing his forehead as though it were giving him a headache.
"Oh... sorry." she apologized. "Anyway I'd probably better get back home now. Thanks for listening to me Master Long."
"Anytime." he replied, secretly hoping that it wouldn't be anytime soon. They both got up from the couch and he walked her to the door, holding it open as she left. She said good-bye and then ran down the street while he stood at the door watching for a moment and thinking about what had just happened. Shina quietly snuck up behind him, wrapping one arm around his waist in a comforting manner.
"So you really don't want to be fixed up with Uriko's mother, do you?" she commented.
"Ugh..." he groaned, finally dropping his composure and showing his true disgust with the idea. "Have you ever seen the woman?"
"I was there when Uriko saved her from the ZLF."
"Yes... well then, you know what I'm talking about."
"Oh yeah." she agreed, remembering well enough what the woman was like. "So what do you think is the most repulsive thing about her, Long? Her looks, her age, or her brilliant personality?"
"So you think this is funny do you? I'll tell you what's funny. The age gap between Uriko's mother and I is the same number of years as between the two of us. Doesn't that sound funny to you?"
"And we're back to this age thing again..."
"Now that I see it in this perspective-"
"Age is just a number, Long." Shina interrupted, becoming annoyed with his obsession over their age difference. "We're both adults here and we're both mature enough to decide what we do and don't want... right?" her voice rose a bit and she reflexively put up her fists in response to her anger. "Because if anyone even thinks about calling me immature..."
"That thought never so much as crossed my mind even once." Long defended, waving his hands in a placating manner. "I was simply stating the fact that my opinion that we might do well to give a little further consideration to-"
"You know what? That's fine." she interrupted, becoming cross again. "Because you're not the type of man I usually look for either."
"What?" he asked, giving her a confused look. She simply stood where she was, crossing her arms, leaning against the doorway, and giving him a challenging look. "Very well then, enlighten me. What manner of man are you customarily attracted to?"
She blinked, a bit surprised by the question. "Well, the sort of guy I usually go after..." she stopped for a moment to gather her thoughts. "is just your average guy I guess. Usually guys that are strong, hard, and rough. Those are the sort you meet when you're a mercenary." He nodded, seemingly deep in thought while trying to digest the information. "The only problem with that kind is that they usually have some sort of superiority complex." she explained. "I've ended up having to prove myself to every man I've met so far... except for you." The statement caught his attention, so he turned towards her, gazing at her face. She offered a warm smile. "You treated me like an equal from the moment we first met. Do you have any idea how difficult it can be to find a man who really respects a woman?"
"You can't have met many decent men if I'm the only one who's ever realized that you deserve respect."
"Most of the other mercenaries I work with are a bunch of slobs and low-lives." she replied with a shrug. "I usually work so hard I don't have time to meet real men, and even if I did, I doubt any of them would treat well. I’m either some sort of possession to be acquired or a freak they don’t understand. You remember when I said that some guys are intimidated by me?” she folded her arms and scowled, discontent with the male population in general. “I think it’s just my strong personality. Either they try and dominate me or they run off scared. It’s always some kind of power struggle. With you I can just be myself, and not get dumped or yelled at for it."
“It’s a shame that such men will never see you the way I do.” he agreed. “All I have to do is look into your eyes… and I see such exceptional beauty, courage, strength and valor. I see everything that I once aspired to myself, and unfortunately everything I currently lack. If no one else can see these things, just by looking at you, then they are truly blind. You should never have to prove yourself to anyone.”
Unable to contain herself, Shina jumped up and kissed him, gently working her tongue into his mouth and wrapping her arms around his body. Everything he’d said had been so genuine, heartfelt, and true. It was almost too god to be real, to believe that someone could see through her rough exterior and find the person beneath. She couldn’t help but love the man who loved her for what she truly was, even if he wouldn’t admit to it. She held him for what seemed like the longest time, tasting his mouth and feeling his body. Then she realized that she was touching him in some of the wrong places, and reluctantly let go, withdrawing her hands from his chest and his rear.
“I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what?”
“I was touching you again. I said that I wouldn’t do that to you anymore, and I meant it.” She solemnly turned away, intent on keeping her word. Long stood there dazed for a moment, uncertain what he thought of this new development. He always felt so blissful in her arms, and a part of him wanted to keep holding her, but he knew that his pangs of guilt would still resurface. “I know you’ve got issues to work through.” She continued. “I want to help you out, not to get in the way.”
“Thank you.” He said, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.