Disclaimer: I do not own Fushigi Yuugi or any of its characters. Fushigi Yuugi belongs to Yuu Watase and respective companies.

Author's Note: I apologize for not updating for a while. I want to thank you all for remaining with me and reviewing. Here is the next chapter. I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 5 - Tasuki's Questions

Miaka waited for Tasuki to catch his breath. "Who was that guy, Miaka?" Tasuki boldly inquired.

Not understanding the deeper meaning behind his question, she responded. "I introduced you two at the restaurant, didn't I?"

"Is he your boyfriend?" Tasuki demanded to know.

Recalling what happened on the mountain, she blushed. "Of course he isn't my boyfriend."

Miaka's slight blush didn't go unnoticed by Tasuki, however. It only made him even more suspicious. There were a mountain of questions that he wanted to ask her, but he was terrified off scaring her away. It took him a long time to get this close to her, he didn't want to mess up his chances with her. With those thoughts in mind, he decided to retreat from her for the night. "I have work tomorrow night as well, so I'll bring dinner for you, okay?"

Miaka smiled. "Sure."

With that, Tasuki turned and left for his apartment. Meanwhile, Miaka continued to go into her apartment, still oblivious to Tasuki's feelings for her.

Once Miaka got into her apartment, she was happy yet exhausted. She had to keep reminding herself that her outing was only a thank-you/I'm sorry dinner - not a date. Still, she was excited. She couldn't wait to see him in the cafeteria, if he was there, on Monday. Miaka considered calling Yui to tell her what a great guy Tamahome was, but decided it was too late to call. Yui was most likely already in bed.

She glanced at the clock on her cellular phone to see it read 11:20pm. Miaka didn't realize just how late it was until then. She pulled out her college textbooks, studied English for a few hours, got ready for bed, and slept.

Sunday was a bright and beautiful day. Miaka had plans to study with Yui, so she was expected to arrive at Miaka's apartment early. Miaka quickly showered and put on a comfortable pair of red plaid pajama bottoms and a white t-shirt. By the time she completed getting ready, Yui called to say that she was in the parking lot, as she usually did.

It didn't take Yui long to get across the complex parking lot. Miaka and Yui exchanged greetings at the apartment door. They walked in, say their books down on the coffee table that was located in the middle of the living room, and sat down on the floor. As they opened their books and picked up their pens, Yui was the first to speak. "So, how was your date?"

"It wasn't a date," Miaka retorted. "It was only a thank-you dinner."

Yui arched an eyebrow at her red-haired friend. "Right. So how was it?"

Unable to keep a secret from her best friend, Miaka told Yui every detail beginning with what Tamahome wore that night to what happened on the mountain.

After Miaka finished her story, Yui looked surprised. "You mean he actually showed you a place that he called his 'secret place'?"

"Yeah. It was very beautiful too."

"Hmm..." Yui didn't know what to say. Tamahome sounded like a really good guy, and Miaka seemed to totally like him. Yui was happy for her.

The two girls studied together for hours, occasionally taking a break to drink some coffee and talk about boys or something of the like. Nightfall came quicker than they would have liked. They were having such a good time talking and studying together. "I think I'd better get going home," Yui said.

"Okay," Miaka replied as Yui packed up her books and paper into her backpack that sat on the floor. Once packed, she hefted the overloaded pack onto her shoulders and walked out the front door. "Oh, I'll walk you out."

Miaka walked Yui out to the parking lot, where they parted ways for the weekend. On the way back to her apartment, she heard a motorcycle pull into the location where she had just left from. Turning her head to look, she saw Tasuki on his sleek Suzuki motorcycle. Not knowing if he saw her or not, she waved to him as he was pulling into a close parking spot. However, he made no notion that he saw her at all. As he shut off his bike, she made her way over to him.

As Tasuki took off his helmet, he noticed Miaka walking toward him. She caught him off guard with her pajamas on. Despite her attire, he thought she was beautiful. He walked to her. "Hey, Miaka. I brought dinner for you tonight. Have you eaten yet?"

"No, I haven't," Miaka replied. "Do you want to come up and eat with me?"

Miaka asks him to eat with her every time he brings her food, and for reasons even unknown to him - he refuses. However, he reminded himself of the vow he made - The vow to get Tamahome away from Miaka. This will be step one. "Sure."

Miaka was shocked at his sudden change in attitude lately. She noticed that he was becoming more confident in himself. She silently wondered who is the cause of it. Bringing her thoughts together again, she spoke. "Shall we go eat?"

Proud of himself for braving the difficult task of accepting her offer, he grabbed the take-out box filled with udon, and walked with the girl he loves into her apartment. As he walked in behind her, he suddenly began to have second thoughts. Miaka went to the kitchen, brought down a bowl from a cabinet and put half of the udon in it. She took the bowl at the box with the remaining udon into the living room and sat them on the coffee table. Going out of his view and back to the kitchen, he heard her voice cut through the awkward silence. "I apologize for the messy apartment. I spent all day studying and I really didn't expect any other visitors besides Yui."

Coming back into his view with chopsticks, he responded. "Oh its okay. My apartment is always a lot messier than this."

Miaka smiled at Tasuki's attempt to make her feel better about her lack of housekeeping skills. The two walked to where she had sat the bowl. They sat on opposite sides of the small table, facing each other. Miaka had always eaten at the coffee table in her apartment, considering that she doesn't have room for a dining table. She suspected that Tasuki's apartment was similar to hers.

They talked about various things. "How is school going for you, Miaka?" Tasuki asked. He had never attended college before, and was genuinely interested in college life. He thought that it must be more interesting than making udon all day long.

"Its going well, actually," Miaka ventured. "My professors are really good and interesting."

"How did you meet Tamahome?" Tasuki interrogated. He wanted to learn more about how close they were, so he decided to ask around the topic.

"Well, he rescued me from a few bullies."

Tasuki arched an eyebrow at her. He knew that there had to be more to her story than what she planned on telling him. He completely understood that their relationship was probably none of his business, but he couldn't help it. He was in love with her.

"What?" Miaka asked, taking note of Tasuki's questioning gaze.

"Nothing," Tasuki replied, retreating back into his mind.

Miaka suddenly felt the air between them getting tense and felt the need to change the conversation topic. "So, are you dating anyone yet, Tasuki?"

Her question hit him like a ton of brinks. He wished that he could date her, and tell her how he felt, but he knew he couldn't. What else could he say to her? "No, not yet. Though, I do have someone in mind." It was the truth. He couldn't lie to her.

Grinning from ear to ear, Miaka decided to play matchmaker between the mystery girl and the orange-haired boy. Tasuki was always so sweet, caring and thoughtful towards her, that she wanted to do something for him. He never showed any interest in girls, so hearing that he liked someone was a bit of a shock to Miaka. "Hmm... Do you want to tell me about her? Would I know her? Does she work with you? Does she know you like her?"

He didn't expect the sudden flurry of questions. He was at a utter loss for words. Frightened by her questions, he decided that it was time to get home. He sat the chopsticks down on top of the bowl, turned, said, "thank you for having me over to eat," and bolted out of the apartment before she even knew what was happening.

Miaka sat in here apartment, shocked that Tasuki could run so fact. He was up and out of her home within a matter of seconds. She shrugged her shoulders, cleaned up, and went to bed.