A/N: In case you haven’t heard, Tomonobu Itagaki, the head producer and director of Team Ninja and created of the DOA series, has left Team Ninja and Tecmo. Go to wikipedia to get the whole story. Is this the end of DOA and the new Ninja Gaiden series? I hope not.

Disclaimer: Dead or Alive owned by Team Ninja, Tecmo, and Itagaki. Tramps Like Us owned by Ogawa and Tokyopop

Kunoichis Like Us

Chapter 6

Alex could feel Kasumi’s eyes burning a hole in the back of his skull as he packed. He felt embarrassed enough about the ordeal, and she was just making it worse. She gave him a major tongue lashing after school the day Nanako invited him to the resort. She seemed more upset over the trip itself than his acceptance of her invite. He was more afraid that she would tag along, secretively of course, although he had a hard time envisioning her as the stalker type. She was too level headed, too calm and controlled to do something so creepy, despite her ninja occupation.

“If you’re gonna stare at me, at least say something.” Alex folded a pair of socks together and placed them neatly in his traveling bag.

“I believe everything that needs to be said has been said.” Kasumi spoke like she was giving a weather report, dull and flat. “She is up to something, and you know it.”

“She’s not some evil villain who has a sinister plot for everything. Besides, some of her friends are coming with, so I doubt any scenario that you’ve probably thought up will happen.”

“Perhaps. Perhaps not.” Kasumi rubbed her back against the frame of his bedroom’s doorway. She was leaning against the frame with her arms and legs crossed in an imposing manor. It was difficult for someone who was rather cute to be scary and intimidating, yet she pulled it off masterfully.

Alex felt goose bumps form on his skin. “I know Nanako. She’s a little rough, but she’s not the type of person to set traps or do anything strange to her friends.”

“How can you say that, after what she did to you?” Kasumi said sympathetic. “She used you, Alex.”

“That’s…not how it happened.” Alex braced himself on the bed. “At least that’s not the entire story.”

“Then what is? What happened?”

Alex closed his eyes, fighting off the swirling memories and emotions. “I don’t want to talk about. It’s in the past, gone.”

“Only by confronting our emotions, our past, can we make peace with them.” Kasumi said poetically.

Alex hated her ‘wise man’ phrases. They were so clichéd, like fortune cookies or horoscopes in the school newspaper. But what made her little sayings more irritating than the cookies and horoscopes were their accuracy. He could not rebuke them without looking stubborn and childish. She won with words as well as fists.

“Easier said than done.” He said, not wanting her to have the last word.

She did not reply. She let him win, if it could be called a victory. He knew she allowed it because she always won the previous arguments.

He returned his attention to his luggage. The trip was only for a night, so he did not have to worry about much: a change of clothes, a swimsuit for the Jacuzzi, and his toothbrush. His parents had told him about the importance of packing light. He wondered if he should bring toothpaste, but figured that the resort would probably have some.

“Alex?”

“Hmm?” Alex zipped up his bag.

“If you were stranded on a desert island, what would you have?”

Alex found the change in topic refreshing. It was an odd question, but at least she wasn’t going on about the situation with Nanako.

“You mean what can’t I live without?” Alex smiled. His sisters and he always resorted to scruples questions when they were bored together. “I don’t know. Some matches for a fire. A few books, you know, to escape from reality. Maybe a knife. Ya never know, right?”

“I see.” Kasumi sounded somewhat disappointed, like she did not hear the answer she wanted.

“I don’t know what Nanako is like exactly.” Kasumi began before Alex had a chance to ask her what she could not live without. “And neither do you. No one can truly understand her except herself. But she has hurt you in the past Alex. She is more than capable of doing it again.”

“I know.” Alex said. “I know.”

Then she was behind him. Like last time and all the other times before, there were no sounds, no sudden movements, she just moved from the doorway without him even noticing. She put her hand on his shoulder and made him turn around. Before he knew it, she was hugging him, her head resting on his shoulder.

“It’ll be alright.” She softly spoke. “I’m here for you.”

Alex could not help but smile. He expected her to say such things to a fellow girl, but not to a boy, especially him. But that was her charm, her unwavering kindness that she had become famous for in school.

He put his arms around her. She was pleasingly warm. She lacked the potent stench of nicotine and tobacco that usually hung on Nanako, instead there was a slight fragrance of strawberries on her, barely prominent enough to tantalize the nose. He did not mind her large chest pressing against his, but her sudden affection was confusing.

“Thanks.” He said.

--

Nanako’s friend’s car was a cheap, pale blue, Mitsubishi. The friend was Shoma Kondo, a nineteen year old with a spike piercing under his lip and short, shaggy hair. His deep blue T-shirt sported the name of a rock band Alex never heard of, probably an amateur band. He greeted Alex with a healthy handshake and slap on the back. His girlfriend was Nayuki Noguchi who worked with Nanako at the Moonlit Mile. Her pig tails popped out at the sides of her head with multicolored beads wrapped around their bases, an odd hairstyle for someone who was older than him. Dark eye shadow and lipstick gave her face a gothic look. Her plaid skirt came to her lower thighs and fishnet stockings hugged her legs. The dark purple spaghetti strap top was probably a size too small for her. Two large silver bracelets covered her wrists like handcuffs. She looked bored and had her hands folded. Although he swore that she regarded him with a raised eyebrow, like she was surprised to see him. The other two friends were Hosaka Takishima and Tamaki Ogami. Hosaka was the boyfriend of Tamaki and proud of it. His arm was around her waist when he met the two and during the drive, she practically rode on his lap. Hosaka wore a khaki bucket hat and a white shirt with a dark denim vest. Tamaki went to the same school as Alex and was friends with Nanako before her departure. Her light brown hair was curled via a perm and went down her back. Her red shirt had a heart shaped opening in the chest that showed her cleavage. Her belt around her black skirt held numerous large looped golden rings. Nanako herself wore a black and blue striped tube top with black leather jeans. Her glitter skull cap was atop her head.

Alex hated going to social gatherings with people he did not know. Nanako and her friends talked during the entire trip, usually about gossip at the school, the hostess club, and the ‘cool’ things the boys did between then and the last time they were all together. He caught part of a story about how Shoma and his friends supposedly found the wrecked chassis of a Honda motorcycle and was planning to rebuild it to race it. He faded in and out of the conversations that were taking place and looked out the window, thankful that he got a window seat. Nanako was next to him, talking to Tamaki who seemed oblivious of Hosaka’s hand that caressed her thigh. Alex was the odd man out, no one talked to him and he did not know how to start a conversation with people he did not know.

He closed his eyes and wished himself back to his apartment. He wondered what Kasumi was doing.

“Hey, Alex.”

He awoke to Shoma’s call. Since when were they on a first name basis?

“Yeah?”

“Kinda quiet back there.” Shoma did a quick glance into the rearview mirror. “You alright?”

He noticed that the other conversations stopped. All attention in the car was focused on him.

“Yeah.” Alex said more to himself. “I’m fine.”

--

Dinner was the first thing on everyone’s mind after they got settled into their rooms. The restaurant was small and lavish, but was barely alive. Only a few people were present aside from themselves. The lights were dimmed. Candles were lit at tables with customers. The waiter regarded his group with professional courtesy, but Alex could see the uncertainty in his eyes. No doubt the staff was used to business men and high class families. A group of high school punks must have given everyone pause.

They were seated at a booth, far from the entrance and the other customers who gave them quick glances and hurriedly ignored them. No one in the group seemed to mind, they enjoyed the extra privacy. Shoma, Nayuki, and Tamaki were seated on one end of the booth while Alex, Nanako, and Hosaka took the other.

“So, Alex.” Shoma asked after everyone placed their orders. “Where ya from?”

“Shoma.” Nanako talked before Alex could formulate an answer. She sounded slightly angry. “What the hell did I say to you before we got him?”

“What? It’s a legitimate question.” Shoma acted like he did nothing wrong.

“I’m from Tokyo.” Alex answered plainly.

“Uh…alright.” Shoma glanced to Nanako who seemed to be on the verge of slugging him and looked back to Alex. “Then what’s you ethnicity?”

Alex paused before replying. “French-American.”

“Ooooh, France.” Tamaki leaned across the table to better see Alex. “Have you been to Paris? I wanna go soooo bad.”

“No. I’ve never left Japan.”

“But you must have family there, right?” Tamaki sounded overly enthralled with the subject. “If you do go, think you could find a way to take me too?”

“I…don’t know.” Alex felt put on the spot.

“You’ll have to forgive her.” Hosaka said. He had removed his hat, revealing hair stricken with bed head. Whether the style was intentional or not was lost on Alex. “She’s been trying to go to France for years. Will not shut up about it.”

“You know, you’re not bad looking.” Nayuki suddenly spoke. Despite her compliment, she still appeared stand offish. It did not seem to affect Shoma who had his arm around her shoulder.

“Uh…thanks?”

“When she heard that you were a foreigner, she thought you would be some ugly, fat kid.” Shoma snickered. “Guess you proved her wrong, huh?”

“Do you have any family here?” Nayuki asked.

Alex found himself at in a position he was not used to, the center of attention. Nanako’s friends asked questions about him, his hobbies, his likes and dislikes. He hated to admit it, but he rather enjoyed it. That is until Tamaki asked him an all too personal question.

“So, how many times have you and Nanako done it?”

Alex instantly became red.

“Tamaki!” Nanako hissed. “I thought I told you keep your big trap shut about that.”

“You mean he is a virgin?” Shoma exclaimed. “I thought you were pullin’ our leg.”

“Shut the fuck up, Shoma.” Nanako curled her hands into fists. “I fuckin’ mean it.”

“It’s nothin’ to be ashamed about.” Shoma continued. “So he’s a late bloomer. I-”

Something bumped the table from under it. Shoma suddenly had on a face filled with pain.

“You want me to render you physically useless to your girl? Or are you gonna close that goddamn mouth of yours?”

Nanako applied more pressure on Shoma’s crotch with her foot. “Well?”

“Alright, alright, I give.” Shoma wheezed.

Nanako released Shoma. She forced herself to look at Alex. He looked right back at her with an impassable face.

“I have to go.” He got up to leave.

Nanako’s hand grasped his wrist. “Wait. Alex. I didn’t mean to…I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, man, don’t bail on us.” Hosaka backed her up. “We don’t care whether you’re a virgin or not.”

“These dumbasses have a tendency to say things before they think about them.” Nayuki nudged her boyfriend. “Right?”

Shoma, doubled over in pain, smiled. “It’s not like we’re gonna spread it around to everyone we know. C’mon, sit back down.” He them muttered how Nanako ‘overreacted’.

“Please?” Nanako whispered. “Just sit down.”

Alex saw that she was actually scared that he would leave. He sighed through his nose and did what he was told. Nanako leaned closer to whisper in his ear, her hand over his.

“Thank you, Alex. I promise this won’t happen again.”

“It shouldn’t have happened at all. You owe me an explanation and soon.”

Nanako seemed stunned for a moment before lowering her eyes and nodding.

“Damn, this still hurts.” Shoma turned to his girl with a sloppy grin. “You wanna kiss it to make it better?”

She answered him with a slap upside his head.

--

The talk during and after their long dinner was like a domino effect, one topic would lead to another and another with no planned course. When they discovered that they were the only ones left in the restaurant, the group went back to Shoma and Nayuki’s room. The rooms were hotel like, a single room for a bed, a couch, a recliner, and a television. Once inside, Shamo opened one of his bags and took out cans of beer.

“Alright, who wants one?” Shoma popped one open.

A rhetorical question, since everyone soon had a beverage. Alex studied the can that Nanako thrust in his hand. He never drank before, but the label proclaimed a light beer. According to his father, light beers were essentially alcohol flavored water. Figuring that one would not hurt, he opened the can and took a small sip. The bitterness almost made him scrunch his face together.

Nanako sat beside him on the sofa and took a long pull from her can. “Don’t worry. You’ll get used to the taste.”

The small talk continued. This time, the group splintered off into pairs. Shoma and Nayuki claimed their bed. Hosaka sat in the recliner with Tamaki on his lap. Each was in their own private conversation.

“Pretty nice, huh?” Nanako asked. “Glad you came?”

He remained silent and drank some more, expecting the bitterness.

“C’mon, Alex, don’t give me the silent treatment. You came here to relax, not to get all pissy.”

“I can’t believe you told them. Anything else you said to them? Maybe my bank account number?”

“I’m sorry. Look, you tell your friends personal things, so do I. Don’t tell me that you haven’t told your friends how I’ve gotten around.”

She had him. Alex forgot that people tell their closest friends almost everything. One of Nanako’s favorite things to do was to tell minute stories about her sexual life, nothing too specific, but enough to let him know what she had done. She seemed to enjoy torturing him, although she never went far. Alex filled in Seiji about Nanako. That is, after Seiji raked him over hot coals. Seiji hated not knowing about what his friends knew.

“I didn’t know you’d make a big deal out of this.” Nanako said. “Still, I am sorry.”

“Forget it.” Alex stared into his can. “I don’t care anymore.”

Nanako eyed Alex with worry before she took another swig. “I’m glad you came. I really wanted you to meet my friends. They like you.”

“They’re ok, I guess.”

Nanako smiled. “They just take some getting used to, that’s all.” She snuggled against his shoulder. “I know I kid around with you a lot, but…” She draped her arm around his chest, leaving what she wanted to say hanging in limbo.

Before he could answer, Alex saw something. It was Nayuki and Shoma. The two were locking lips, him on top of her, her arms around his neck, his hand around her waist, the other under her shirt. Alex felt that maybe it was time for the two to have some privacy. He gave a quick glance to the other couple in the room to see if they got the message too. Alex’s eyes widened. Tamaki was no longer on Hosaka. She knelt in front of him, her head slowly bobbing up and down in his lap, her hair a curtain that concealed her act. Hosaka had his eyes closed and a hand on her head. Nanako suddenly pushed Alex on his back and straddled him. He almost dropped the beer in his hand.

“Na…Nanako.” Alex said breathlessly. “What the hell is goin’ on?”

She plucked the beer from his hand and set down next to hers. Her hands ran up and down his chest, gently with deliberate ease. Her face was calm. She knew what she was doing.

“Nanako!” Alex said more forcefully.

“Shhh.” She soothed. “Just lie back and relax.” She took his hand and delicately licked his palm. “It’ll feel great.”

Fear and bewilderment paralyzed him. His brain ceased functioning. He looked around again out of sheer confusion. Shoma and Nayuki had stopped kissing. Her top was pushed up over her breasts. Shoma, still on top, kissed and licked her chest. Nayuki tilted her head back, her mouth slightly open. Tamaki head was still in rhythm, but her shirt was gone. The white strap of her bra clung to her petite frame. Hosaka caressed her tanned skin. A hand cupped the side of Alex’s head, turning his vision back to Nanako.

“It’s not polite to stare.” She playfully smiled and placed the hand she held on her cheek. She traced the edges of her lips with his index finger before placing it into her mouth and sucked.

Alex was used to hearing about sex, from Seiji tales of conquest to Nanako’s one-lined jokes and stories. But to be apart of it, it was something words could not describe. But how it was happening was not what Alex had expected. He had grown bitter about love, but he still imagined that his first time would have been more…romantic. It sounded girly, but he did not want his first time to be with someone he would later regret. It appeared that fate had decided to toss his ideas into a grinder. One part of him wanted to stay, the part that was hormones. The other part, the one that was rational, told him to go before something happened.

Nanako tugged her top down and slid it to her waist. A throaty moan came from somewhere in the room. With one of his hands still in her grasp, she took his other hand and placed them on her bare chest. The sensation almost made Alex yelp.

“First time touchin’ a girl’s tits? Pretty nice, huh?”

Nanako’s breasts were not a large as Kasumi’s, but at that moment in time, it was irrelevant. But thinking about Kasumi made him remember her warmth, her kindness, her troubled feelings about him and Nanako. Lightning went through his veins. He sat up quickly, scaring Nanako into falling off of him. Taking advantage of the adrenaline spike, he fell off the couch, tipping over the beer, and ran for the door. Once out, he kept running, his feet carried him outside past the gardens, the pool, and the borders of the resort.

He stopped in front of a rest area for joggers. There were vending machines with drinks and energy bars. He did not feel thirsty, but he wanted the bitter taste of hops out of his mouth. Nothing with caffeine, though, he needed to calm down. He stood in front of one of the vending machines with a giant can of herbal tea on the front with green and yellow letters proclaiming its restorative powers in a mix of English and kanji. At the bottom of the selective menu was water, good enough. He fished the money from his pocket, slid it into the machine, and punched his selection. He sat himself on one of the benches, pouring some of the water in his mouth, swished it around, and spat it all out.

Alex wished himself home again. He wanted to be back, take a bath instead of a shower, maybe watch some T.V. with Kasumi. A smile came to him. Thinking about her seemed to give him the jolt to get himself out of that room. He missed her warmth. Nanako’s warmth was different, hers made him shiver. Kasumi’s was calming. He wanted to feel that warmth again, to feel calmed and safe. He missed her.

He heard someone running to the rest area. At first, he thought it is just a jogger, but the footsteps sound like bare feet on pavement. He looked up to find Nanako sprinting up to him with her pumps in her hand and her tub top back in place. She slowed down and stopped in front of Alex, panting.

“Alex.” She said between breaths. “The hell happened to you back there? Why’d you freak?”

“You actually have to ask me that, after what was going on?” Alex said angrily.

“Why are you bein’ so uptight about this? I thought you’d love it.”

“Then I guess you truly don’t know me.” He coldly answered back.

There was silence for a moment, each not knowing what to say next.

Nanako spoke first in a hushed tone. “Mind if I sit down?”

Alex scooted over. She plopped down and leaned her head back in a relieved sigh. He offered her his bottle. “Thanks.” She said and drained half of it in one go.

“My friends are worried about you.” She handed back the water. “Told them you had stage fright. We all had it once, so they understand.”

“Why? I mean, why do you all…couldn’t you at least get separate rooms?”

“We’re comfortable around each other, Alex. We trust each other completely.” She stretched out her arms. “Besides, it’s not like we swap partners or anything.” She smiled. “Although Tamaki might be interested with you.”

“Huh?”

“She thinks the French are masters at love. And since you’re half French…”

Alex snorted. “I doubt her boyfriend would like that.”

“Me too.” There was another lull in the conversation. “Alex, I did this so we can be closer. I wanted you to be close with me as they are.”

“Nanako…I’m not sure if-”

“You think I’m a slut, don’t you?”

Alex opened his mouth, but could not bring himself to say what he thought.

“I don’t blame you. I’ve been with some guys, hooked up a few times, but do you know why?”

Alex shook his head.

“Because I chose to. My father wanted me to be the perfect Japanese woman, the Yamato Nadeshiko. He wanted me to be like my mother, who keeps her head bowed and never speaks up for herself. My dad had me believe that that’s what all Japanese women should be. But when I got older, I saw what a load of crap that was. I want to think for myself, to live for myself. I want to have a future that’s more than sitting at home while my husband’s at work and my children are at school. I want to be me!”

She vibrated with rage, but quelled it with a deep breath. “Our country says that ‘the nail that sticks out gets hammered down’. That being different is unacceptable. Well, that’s not what my friends think, not what I think.” The smile returned. Her hand ran up the back of his neck, through his hair. “It’s funny that we both have a problem with that statement.”

“We do?”

“Yeah. I don’t want to fit in. But you? You do. You want to be like everyone else so they’ll stop looking down on you. We are what the other wants to be.”

Alex felt skeptical about her reasoning, but she had logic behind it.

She retracted her hand. “Well, we should wait a few more minutes before we go back. Let everyone finish.”

He remembered the earlier part of the conversation. “You know, I fail to see how the casual sex fits into this.”

“They say that only a husband and wife should have sex, but sex…it feels so good. I don’t understand why people see it as something so dirty.” She chuckled. “But, I forget that you probably don’t see it like that. I suppose we should wait until you’re ready.”

“What makes you think I want my first time to be with you?”

“Then with who? Sakura? Or should I call her Kasumi?”

Alex, rendered speechless, gapped at her.

“Did you really think I wouldn’t put two and two together? When I met her the second time, I smelled strawberries, the same strawberries I smelled on you. In fact, I can almost smell it on you right now.”

Alex cursed Kasumi’s perfume.

Nanako gave a huff of laughter. “I don’t care though. And you know what? Go for it.”

Alex blinked. There was no sarcasm in her voice when she spoke. “What?”

“Nail her. Nail any girl you want. I don’t care, I mean, who am I to throw stones?” She regarded him with the gaze of a confident woman. “Because I know that I’m the one you’ll care about.”

Alex was about to counter, saying that he cared about Kasumi. But he knew better, that would just give her more ammunition and add to his troubles with Kasumi. It would be better if Kasumi and Nanako were kept away from each other, mostly for Nanako’s sake. Then it hit him, everything else came crashing down except that one detail, the statement she ended with. He felt the betrayal returning, the gnawing ache and the empty rage.

“Why should I care about you?” Alex said from deep within him, the words he had planned on saying the moment he left that rooftop, when Nanako left him. “You said it yourself, you don’t care about me, we were nothing but a show! A ‘fuck you’ for your-”

“I lied.”

A coldness flushed his system of the burning anger. Only Nanako could have the ability to render Alex dumb so quickly and suddenly.

“What?”

“I lied, Alex. Back on the roof, a year ago, I lied.”

“Wh…why?”

Nanako did not answer for a minute, instead choosing to stare straight ahead, looking at everything and nothing at the same time, lost in her own thoughts. Alex wanted to say her name again, but for some reason, the look on her face killed any thought of speaking up.

“I wanna tell you, Alex. God, I just wanna get this off my chest. But I can’t. Not right now.” Nanako looked into Alex’s eyes. “Can you…wait for it…just a little longer?”

The words just popped out of Alex’s mouth without any thought. “Yeah…sure.”

“Thank you, Alex.” Nanako kissed him on the cheek. “I promise, I’ll tell you everything. There’s just something I have to figure out for myself.”

Alex nodded. He felt brittle, weak.

Nanako laid her head on Alex’s shoulder. Nothing else was said for the rest of the night.

--

“Your brother thinks that Ayane won’t do anything against Kane, but he would feel better that you know about her current state of mind.”

Kasumi processed what Ryu said, formulating on how to act in the future. “Thank you, Ryu, for telling me.”

“It was your brother’s wish I do this. He’s not as guile as he thinks he is, but he’s good at bending the rules somewhat.”

Ryu stood in the patio doorway during their conversation. She invited him in, but he refused, stating that he would not be long. Having such direct talks with Ryu while standing felt rather alien to her, she was used to seated discussions over tea with him.

“Where is Kane?” Ryu looked around. “Out with friends?”

“Sort of…” Kasumi felt obligated to keep Alex’s personal problems secret, but Ryu already knew so much. “He’s with the girl I told you about, her name is Nanako Izumi.”

“And you are worried, yes?”

Kasumi nodded. “I’ve met with the girl personally. She is very…aggressive. Confrontational, even.”

“Not all girls are sweet and gentle like you.”

Kasumi felt her face turn hot. She briefly looked away.

“You do not know the entire story about Kane and Izumi, perhaps you should ask.”

“I’ve tried, but…”

“It’s only natural for someone to keep personal pain a secret. But if you truly want to become his friend, as you so stated in my shop, than be willing to share the burden with him.”

“Thank you again, Ryu.”

The click of the front door entered her ears. She turned and prepared to greet Alex. Saying goodbye to Ryu would have been pointless as she knew as soon as she turned her head, he was already gone. She stood at the sliding door to the waiting room. The door opened.

She bowed. “Welcome back.” She straightened back up.

The look on Alex’s face was that of extreme irritation and fatigue. “Yeah, thanks.” He walked past Kasumi, hauling his bag to his room.

“Alex, what happened? You look terrible.” She followed behind him.

“My relaxing weekend was anything but.” Alex mumbled and slugged his bag on his bed. “Never again.”

“Did Izumi…do something?” Kasumi carefully asked.

“Yeah, me. Well, almost.” Alex frowned. “God, there are times where I she just…” He heaved a defeated sigh and plopped down on the mattress.

Kasumi could feel the anger and despair radiating off him. She quietly sat next to him and waited for him to continue.

“I don’t know…I just don’t know.” Alex said in a tone that was reserved for discussions of the heart. “She provokes me, pushes me, plays with me, I hate it so much…but…I can’t deny that…I feel attracted to her. Even though…” He squeezed his eyes shut and let his head sink. “I must be the biggest idiot alive.”

Kasumi began to gently rub his back. He was opening up, she had to make him feel comfortable or he would withdraw again.

“What happened, Alex?” Kasumi asked. “Please, tell me.”

Alex shot her a glance, wrung his hands together, and sighed again. “It started out ok. We were having dinner and I found out that she’s been telling some personal stuff about me to her friends. At first, I was angry, but I realized that I was sort of doing the same thing with Seiji. So, I let it slid.”

“You had every right to be angry, Alex.” Kasumi reassured.

“I guess.” Alex said more to himself before continuing. “After that, we went to one of our rooms. We had some beers, I only had one. We were talking and then…it just started happening.”

“What did?”

“Sex. I mean her friends were doing it like we weren’t even there. And then she tried to…” Alex gave a smile of self pity. “I ran, though. I’m probably the first teenage boy to run away from having sex.”

Kasumi was not sure how to answer, seeing that she was also inexperienced with such matters. Instead she continued rubbing his back.

“Anyway, I found out later that…she lied to me. When she left a year ago, she lied about her reasons.” Alex paused for a moment, getting his act together. “Everyone thinks that she used me and I didn’t know about it. But they’re wrong. I knew.”

“How did you find out? Did someone tell you?”

“Yeah, she did.” Alex explained. “We were hanging out for a while and she asked me if it would be okay if we acted like we were going out. I didn’t care, so I went along with it. After a while…I…” Alex began to shake a little. She could tell what he was about to say was both deeply personal and embarrassing for him. “I fell in love. She was the first girl that was close to me, it just happened.” Alex laughed softly at himself. “When she told me she was leaving, I confessed to her.”

“She told you no?” Kasumi guessed.

Alex nodded. Kasumi embraced him on instinct. A good hug always seemed to help her friends. Slowly, Alex returned the hug. Nothing more was said for a few minutes.

“Before I left, you asked me what I couldn’t live without.” Alex suddenly spoke up. “Well, thinking about you…it helped me out this weekend. And I realized that without you, I would be alone again. I can’t face being that again.” He held her a little tighter. “If I had to be on a desert island, I’d definitely take you with me.”

Kasumi smiled at the awkwardness of his words. He was coming around. She was afraid that the bitterness and loneliness in his soul would crush him.

She would save him.