Sake
By Maria Szabo
Disclaimer: X and its characters are the property of CLAMP, their publishers and distributors. This is a work of fanfiction and no profit is being made except that of entertainment.
He awoke to a jolt of sunlight and a particularly cheeky lark who was loudly greeting the morning. Muttering a curse, he rubbed his aching head and slowly opened his eyes. Immediately, he knew there was something very wrong. This wasn't his bed. And he wasn't alone.
She stirred a little next to him, dressed in a cute pajama set that he knew she wasn't wearing last night. His shirt and pants seemed to be missing. In a panic, he looked under the cover and to his great relief, he was still (somewhat) modestly attired with his boxers.
The girl next to him murmured something in her sleep and cuddled closer to him in the too-small bed. He absently put his arm around her and tried to remember how the hell he'd gotten and and what the hell he'd done. It all started so innocently…
"I really shouldn't be doing this," he said, as he set the bottle of sake in front of her. He poured a cup for her. "Are you sure it's sake you want?"
Yuzuriha smiled up at him, her dark eyes snapping with amusement. "You bet! I can drink like a fish!"
"Missy…." He started, then stopped. Anything to keep her from stealing his beer. "What the hell. Kampai!"
"Kampai!" she echoed and tossed back the entire contents of the cup. "More, please…"
Several beers and eight ochoushis later, Kusanagi was feeling a very good buzz. Yuzuriha was still as genki as ever.
"Can I have another?"
He peered down at her. "I thought seven was your limit?"
"I feel fine! Really!"
"Probably not a good idea, Missy…" Besides, he had pretty much reached HIS limit.
She didn't say anything, but pouted a bit and batted those large beautiful eyes. He sighed and gestured to the barkeep.
Still later, she playfully arranged ten empty ochoushis in front of her. "There!" she said, "Now it looks like a line of soldiers!"
He laughed and rearranged them, adding in empty beer bottles and a couple of glasses. "Now it looks like a forest."
She giggled and reached for his beer. He caught her hand gently and pushed it away.
"Oh, c'mon!" she wheedled.
"Nope. I'm taking you home, Missy."
She blushed.
"YOUR home, silly girl. Now, stand up and let's get going." He stood, rather unsteadily, and extended his hand.
"Meanie." She pushed herself to her feet and wobbled dangerously.
"Hmmm…a little too much, eh?"
"I'm fine, really." She turned and started to walk. "See?"
"Not that way…that's the wall." He put his hand on the small of her back and guided her out of the bar. "Let's try this way, okay?"
"Sure!" she agreed.
He shook his head. Incredible, he thought. She wasn't kidding about her tolerance. The hard part would be getting her back to her school without getting caught.
The air outside was cool and a little bracing. She giggled a bit as they weaved their way through the hotel district. Kusanagi was aware of himself blushing a bit, but hopefully the night would camouflage the direction of his not-so-innocent thoughts. She probably didn't even know what people did in there.
He suddenly had to catch her as she stumbled. She leaned against his chest. "I'm so dizzy…" she whispered and laughed lightly. "Guess my tolerance wasn't as good as I thought."
He hugged her to him briefly and left an arm about her. "Don't worry. I'll get you home."
Easier said than done, he thought later as they approached the CLAMP Academy Gates. The moat leading to the campus had been closed down for the night. There was a bell you could ring, but he had a sneaking suspicion…
"Hey, Missy?"
She cuddled up closer to him. "Hmmmm?"
"You're not going to get in trouble for this, are you?"
She giggled. "Probably."
He shook her shoulder a bit. "I'm serious now, Missy. What'll happen to you?"
"I don't know," she shrugged, "I'll probably get lectured by the Chairman, or Kamui-san, or maybe Sorata-san." A dreadful idea obviously occurred to her. "Maybe ALL of them will lecture me!"
That won't be the worst of it, he thought glumly. Showing up in the middle of the night, completely sloshed, with a man at least ten years older than you isn't going to help your reputation. Maybe they should have gone somewhere else…inappropriate thoughts involving hotels immediately crowded his mind and he shoved them back. Maybe not.
Yuzuriha turned to him and grabbed both his hands in hers. "Kusanagi-san, you have to help me! They'll pester me all day!"
He squeezed them gently. "Don't worry. There has to be another way in, right?"
She looked up owlishly at him. "They're all like this."
"Ah." He looked up at the high walls. "If we get over these walls, is there much past that?"
"Ninjas."
He blinked. "Ninjas?"
"Uh-huh. Takamura-san is the head of security, and he hired a bunch of his relatives to help out."
"Ninjas?"
"Well, people keep trying to kidnap the Chairman, even now, and…"
Suddenly, the hotel idea was sounding better and better. But then, still, her reputation….
"C'mon, Missy. Ninjas be damned, we're going over that wall."
Times like this, he blessed whatever god had given him his power. Every tree, every creature, every blade of grass was a font of information. He could be seen, but was too evasive. They knew something was there, but not one of them could catch him. She kept up with him as best she could, until he finally picked her up in his arms and carried her. It was dangerous, it was wonderful, it was magic.
He finally deposited her on the balcony of what she said was her room. He would have left her there, but she grabbed his arm and pulled him in after her. "Quick! You've got to hide!"
"Missy, I'll just get out the same way I came in…"
At that moment, the sirens went off.
"No, you won't." she said. "They're locking down the campus. You'll have to wait it out."
"In here?" he tried to look around the dark room and could only make out a bed, a desk and a chair.
"Sure. They won't look in here. Trust me."
He smiled at that. "I guess I'll have to…"
A sudden knock on the door startled them both. Yuzuriha motioned for him to be still, then called out "Yes?"
"Yuzuriha-chan?" a young man's voice with a distinct Osaka accent sounded right outside. "Are you okay? I thought I heard something…"
"No, I'm fine….I, um, I knocked over my alarm clock. What's the sirens for?"
"Not sure," he replied, "I betcha someone tried to kidnap the Chairman again. Those fools never learn. You just sit tight, alright?"
"Okay…" she agreed, and then put her hand over her mouth to hide her giggles. "I'll just stay in bed, then."
Kusanagi shook his head. "Bad girl!" he whispered. He listened until the sound of the boy's footsteps echoed down the hall. Then his own quiet laughter joined hers.
"So what do we do now?" he asked afterwards.
"Just wait a few hours. They'll quiet down once they check on Imonoyama-san and make sure the campus is clear. Then you can go." Her voice became very contrite. "I'm so sorry to be a bother, Kusanagi-san."
"No," he replied, stroking her hair. "This is much more fun than sitting around the barracks, believe me."
To his surprise, she hugged him then, in her innocent way. Then just as quickly, she pulled away. "I'm just going to run to the bathroom," she pointed to another door on the other side of the room, "if you want to sit down, I'll be right back…"
"Sure." He reached for the chair at the desk, but she pulled it away. "Huh?"
"Not that! You wouldn't fit! Just sit on the bed…it's okay, really!" She slipped out the door and turned on a light.
Sighing, he gingerly sat on the bed. It seemed comfortable and in his mind's eye he could see her curled up asleep. He suddenly felt very tired himself. He'd had too much to drink, and the exhilaration of outracing the campus ninjas was wearing off. Just for a moment, he thought, I could lay down just for a moment….
He must have fallen asleep, but how did his clothes? And why was Yuzuriha…uh, oh. I didn't, he thought, did I? Not that he minded, he'd wanted that for a long time, but she was so young and… no, surely he would have remembered THAT. Wouldn't he? Although, the way his head was throbbing…
He felt her move suddenly and sit up. He felt his face go red as his eyes met hers. She yawned a little and gave him a sleepy smile.
"Good morning," she said, like nothing was wrong at all.
"Ah. Good morning." He replied, hesitantly. "Are you…alright?"
"Oh, I'm fine. How are you? You slept very soundly."
He also took the opportunity to sit up. "Um…I'm doing okay."
"We should be able to get you out of here with no trouble, now…they open the gates during the day, you know."
His clothes were piled haphazardly on the floor near the bed. He wanted to ask, but didn't dare. "Good, good. I need to be getting back to the base, anyway."
"Well, let me see if I can sneak some breakfast up here. I know I need some!"
"Ah, Missy…."
"Do you like eggs? Or pancakes?" she got up and grabbed a brush from the nearby bedside table and ran it over her hair.
"Pancakes. But I don't need…Missy…"
Wide eyes looked up at him. "Hmmm?"
"We didn't…um…did we?"
For a moment, her face was puzzled and then comprehension appeared with a great flush. "Oh! You mean….oh! Kusanagi-san!" And then the minx giggled.
"Missy…"
"I think you thought you were at home. You were asleep when I got back from the bathroom, but then you sat up, said something about work, took off your clothes and went back to bed. I was going to sleep downstairs on the couch, but Sorata-san was still up, so I just got on my pajamas and crawled in with you. You were sleeping so soundly, I didn't think you'd mind."
"Ah."
"You don't mind, do you?"
He gave her a sheepish grin. "No, I don't mind if you don't."
"No. I liked it, actually. You're very warm, you know." She blushed and leaned down, giving him a kiss on the forehead. "Kusanagi-san, I told you I had good tolerance. We're going to have to work on yours!"
The worst part about that, he thought with a grimace, was that she was right.
FIN