Tenchi Muyo Never an Ending: Nobuyuki's Pain and Joy This is a continuation of "Tenchi Muyo Never an Ending." This takes place right after "Mihoshi's Realizations and Conclusions." I do not own or hold the rights to any of the characters or activities that have gone on through any of the TM episodes, as they are the Property of AIC and Pioneer. I want no money or fame out of this, nor do I want a lawsuit so please go easy on me. I would like to say Thanks to Jim and Kathy who have helped me out immensely over the last two chapters. They have been very good at picking out many of my spelling and grammar mistakes. (And trust me there was a lot of them! :) ***** Tenchi Muyo Never an Ending: Nobuyuki's Pain and Joy Nobuyuki hung up the phone with a perplexed expression on his face. 'She's back!' Those two words raced through his mind at an alarming rate; and though he was very happy, he was very worried. He had been waiting on this day for several months and now it was happening. He looked down at his desk where there was a picture of Tenchi and Ryoko, as well as one of him and Achika. 'Oh, Achika, am I doing the right thing?' He had been wondering constantly about how he felt towards Mihoshi. After having a talk about it one night with Ryo-Ohki, he realized that he was losing precious time. The picture of his son and daughter-in-law reminded him that age really did not play a factor in this; it was more of his life span. His was much shorter than anyone else's, but until recently, he had not cared about that. When he let her go without telling her how he felt, it cost him a lot of precious time; time that he could not take back. But now, he'd resolved to tell her exactly how he felts. If she felt the same then they would make the best of what time he has left. But if she didn't, then at least he would know the truth instead of guessing and worrying. But, that truth is also something he was worried about finding out. Could he handle being told no? Especially after so long. 'No. She was happy to be back, and she said it would be fun to go out with me.' He looked back at the pictures and then left his office. The only real question right now was how to ditch work on such short notice. He headed down just a few doors to his boss' and stood for a few moments trying to decide what to say. Finally, he walked in. "Ah, Mr. Masaki. What can I do for you?" "Well Mr. Gemondo, I was wondering if I could take the rest of the day off?" His boss looked at him skeptically for a moment, then asked, "Is there any specific reason?" "Well, um, you see." He was not sure how to tell him this. It was kind of hard to explain himself. "Does this have anything to do with that girl you've been thinking about these last few months?" "Sir! I, well." Try as he might no words could be formed. But, the smile his boss wore grew larger and larger. 'Oh, great! How does he know about this?' "I'll take that as a yes." He then began to chuckle, "Oh, come off it, Nobuyuki, this is Henzo you're talking to. Tell me; how long have we known each other?" "Um, well." Mentally he began counting off the years. He first met Henzo about a year before meeting Achika. During the time he dated Achika, the two had been at odds with each other but they soon got over that. He chuckled to himself remembering the bachelor party Henzo had thrown for him. "That long, huh?" Henzo said, while moving to his feet to approach Nobuyuki. "Look, I know it's strange having a friend as a boss, but come on. I went to business school and you took up architecture; so naturally I would be in management, right?" His friend just nodded. "And if you remember I was the one who slapped you upside the head and told you to propose to that girl. Was I wrong?" Nobuyuki finally loosened up and began to laugh himself. "No, you were right." "Good! Now then, take the day off and go propose to this girl." Henzo then took his seat as Nobuyuki just stared at him. "What!" "Look, it's no secret that you've been running around here with that stupid grin on your face. Last time I saw that grin was when you were dating Achika. I tell you there is no mistaking it." "You, you knew? But. I." "Oh, I see that you're surprised I know this." He leaned back in his chair, obviously gloating over this personal insight that he had. "You forget that I told you to marry Achika, and I knew then. You even had me as the best man." Nobuyuki grinned and realized he had been worried for nothing. The times his friend spoke of had been so long ago he had nearly forgotten them. "Look, you've been moping around here for the last few months and your projects have been taking longer to complete. The way I see it is you can either propose to her and get your mind back on your business, or you can be written up for delaying your projects." "Now wait a minute! I haven't been delaying anything!" "Yes you have. When is your current project due?" "The fifteenth," he proclaimed proudly. "And how far along are you?" "Next week it will be done." Nobuyuki wore a smug look. "Well that's good, but next week it will nearly be the thirtieth. You're a week late as it is." The smug look disappeared and he looked over at the calendar to see if it was true. Sadly it was, and Nobuyuki realized that in all of his years here he had never been late on a project; at least not till now. "Look, I don't want to mess up your record no more than you do, so I am giving you some time off to take care of some personal issues. But," he said, pointing a finger at him, "when you get back you had better tell me all about her. And I want a picture of this girl." Nobuyuki was laughing as he walked to the door, "Oh, trust me, you'll find out about her." With that he left the office and headed home. His boss watched him go off down the hall and he chuckled a few moments. Then, going into his friend's office, he grabbed Nobuyuki's briefcase and coat and brought them back to his own office. "She must be something else. I've never seen him leave his stuff behind." After getting into his car and moving it only five feet, Nobuyuki began to wonder about things again. 'What if she says no? What if I'm wrong about all this? All she said was it sounds fun. That. that may have been it for her; just a fun time..' Shaking his head, he banished those thoughts and pulled out a small necklace from under his shirt. Looking at it, the memory of when he proposed to Achika played out before him. 'I. I can't give her this one. I couldn't even give it to Tenchi for Ryoko.' Again his heart was filled with sadness and great pain, such a pain, as he had not felt for some time. He was wounded deeply when he lost her, his wife of so few years. They had been married only a short time before Tenchi was born, and she remained on Earth for only a short time after that. Then he lost his second mom; her mom, to be exact. Those two painful memories had been so great that he thought he would never open his heart again. And then it happened, by some cruel accident. The locks and walls surrounding his heart opened ever so slightly and in walked a blonde officer. He had not even realized when she had, not until it was too late. When he realized what was happening and that he was beginning to live and love again, she was suddenly gone. This time he knew that she was alive, but he could not see her or talk to her. That had been worse than losing Achika. At least he knew where his wife's body lay after she left him. Looking again at the ring in his hand he spoke to it as if it were Achika. "My love, I love another now. I can't handle hanging onto the past and the future, but I need help letting go. If she accepts me tonight." His voice caught in his throat as tears began to form. "If she accepts me then I must lay you finally to rest." Slipping the ring back under his shirt, he pulled away from the parking spot and headed for home. The drive and time seemed to pass far too slowly for him. He wished he had listened to Washu when she told him that she could give him a personal transporter that would instantly take him back to the house. 'But what would I do about my car?' He lamented about how long he had owned it. It would be a shame to get rid of it now, but he figured it wouldn't hold a candle to her ship. "Oh no! Would she have to give up space for me? Or could we." He wondered about it. Is it possible to actually go into space. with her? His mind began making plans while his eyes remained on the road. Thankfully, once he was outside the city, the streets opened up and much less traffic flowed into the countryside at this time of day. Finally arriving back at his house, he pulled up into the driveway and up next to the house. Just like he had for many months. But this time, instead of looking up at her window hoping to see her, he looked down. A slight laugh escaped him as he realized that since she left he'd been looking up at her window hoping she would return. And now that she had he wasn't looking. 'She might be changing; or she might be waiting for me; or she might not be here at all; or." Many things began to race through his mind; including thinking that the girls might have been teasing him. He did not get much time to sit and think about it, though. "Hey, Dad! What's up?" The voice caused him to jump up, hitting his head on the roof and falling into the passenger seat rubbing his head. "Oh, Ryoko. What's um? I'm just parking the car." "But you've been sitting out here for five minutes." "Really? Oh, okay. Just let me get my." His voice trailed off as he reached into the back seat to get his briefcase, only to discover it wasn't there. Ryoko looked at him surprised for a second, as she had never seen him like this when he returned from work. "Wow, let me guess. Casual day, right?" At his confused look she pointed as asked, "Where's your coat? You usually wear a coat with that." He looked at himself and realized that he had left his suit coat and his briefcase at work; along with the plans he was working on. He was about to try to come up with an excuse when she told him, " Ryo-Ohki says Mihoshi is almost ready, so you had better hurry." With that she disappeared. With a smile he moved back to the drivers seat, and turned off the engine. Then taking a glance up at the window, he rushed inside to get ready himself. He barely gave it a thought that Ryoko was home during the middle of the week; usually, she's with Tenchi. Brushing off his thoughts, he hurried inside to get ready for the date. He rushed past the kitchen and barely paid attention to the two who were there, as the voice talking was Washu. 'Oh, it must be Tenchi. That's why Ryoko's here,' he thought for a moment before dashing off to the shower. In the shower he kept mentally going over what he would do and say, hoping that he had not forgotten anything else. On the way to the shower, he had called the restaurant and the reservations had been made. Being the middle of the week, it promised to be very romantic. 'And then. I'll ask,' he told himself, in an effort to rouse up some hidden courage from within. Stepping out, he dried off and was about to open the door to his room when he noticed something in the mirror. Still hanging around his neck was the necklace that held his wife's wedding band. Placing a hand on it, the pain seemed to return; this time much stronger. Slowly he pulled it up and away from him. He could feel his heart ache as the necklace was pulled over his head. Keeping his hand around it, he entered his room. Stopping at his dresser, he dropped it in one of the drawers. "Farewell," he said to it and then turned to finish drying off and dressing. The first few moments without it was hard, but slowly the pain went away. His heart began to think about tonight. 'Maybe she'll say yes.' He hoped he was not doing the wrong thing or being too hasty. The last thing he wanted was to cause her pain or to hurt her. Mihoshi had gone through so much pain before and he did not want to make it worse. But he had to ask her. He did not think he could handle it if she were to leave him again. Taking one last look at himself in the mirror, he smiled and stepped out of his room. When he entered the living room, he was surprised to see Washu and Ryoko sitting on the couch and a young man siting in a chair opposite them. When he heard him talking, he realized this was the one that Washu had been talking to in the kitchen earlier. As they talked, he did not notice the man had seen him enter the room. "Look," he said, obviously annoyed but trying to hide it. "We just came here for her to say hi to some old friends." He stressed the word old and brought grumbles from both females and Nobuyuki. "We'll be leaving soon, I think. Personally, I don't know what she sees in this place. It's very primitive." Nobuyuki could feel his heart sinking as this man continued to speak. "We've spent the last several months around a rather boring planet together. I only agreed to this after she persuaded me." He grinned at the two females and said in a rather low voice, "She can be very persuasive, if you know what I mean." He winked at them. Nobuyuki felt like his heart had just split. If it had not been for the wall he would have fallen over. 'What am I doing? No wonder she only said it sounds fun. She's. she's not really interested in me.' He looked back at the stranger and the pain was doubling and tripling as seconds flew by. 'He's younger than me, more athletic, and he's like her.' Suddenly his thoughts were interrupted by her voice. "Nobuyuki! I'm ready." Her voice sounded as though she was singing, and it gladdened his heart. She came nearly running down the stairs in a very beautiful dress. The skirt covered most of her legs, but it stopped short above her feet showing off the shoes she had chosen. His heart stopped for a moment at the sheer beauty that she was. Ryoko and Washu stood up to meet her. "Wow! Looking good, Mihoshi!" Ryoko sang out. "Yes, I must say you look good. You might give him a heart attack like that," Washu said, snickering at the blonde. "Thanks." She happened to look over at her partner who had not moved or looked at her; in fact he seemed to be stuck. "Um, Miss Washu. What happened to him?" Not even looking over her shoulder she replied, "Oh, his mouth was annoying me so I froze him. Maybe he'll watch his mouth next time." Mihoshi and Ryoko just started laughing, as did Ryo-Ohki who was behind Mihoshi as she came down the stairs. The sound of a something falling over caused the girls to look for Nobuyuki. He had moved from where he was to one of the little tables and was grabbing handfuls of tissues and tucking them into his pockets. In his frantic attempt to get them he had knocked something over. This just caused three of them to laugh harder while Mihoshi just looked at him. Finally when he turned around towards her she saw that he was holding a tissue up to his nose. "Um, do you think this is too much?" She asked Washu quietly. The dress had short sleeves and the top was form fitting with a slight bit of her exposed. The skirt flowed out from her waist, accenting it, and flowed down her legs from there. "Not at all," Ryoko told her, still laughing at Nobuyuki's antics. Mihoshi looked back at her partner and her face soured as she imagined what he would say about this dress. He had spent the past several months staring at only certain parts of her. Returning her gaze to Nobuyuki she smiled softly. 'Nothing's going to spoil tonight for me; not even him,' she thought mentally in reference to her annoying partner. Getting his body back under control, Nobuyuki rushed to Mihoshi's side and offered her his arm. 'Even if she doesn't feel the same, I'm going to make this a special night for her,' he thought as he escorted her out to his car. Helping her in he nearly skipped around to his side before getting in himself. Within moments of them pulling away into the distance, Washu unfroze her partner. Half of the trip to town was in relative silence as Nobuyuki tried desperately to think of something to say or ask that would not bring them around to how she felt for him or her partner. Some of the things that he had said earlier still worried him, but the desire to hear her voice was getting stronger. Finally he asked, "How'd you like it in space?" Immediately he was mentally berating himself about asking such a stupid question. "Oh, it's okay, I guess." Her voice seemed sad and he realized that his first words to her had been about space, and he had not even said hello yet. Gathering courage from somewhere inside him he told her, "I've. I mean we've missed you." Inwardly he kicked himself yet again at how weak that sounded, but she seemed to be wearing a grin now. "You should smile more." She grinned even more and cast him a sly glance, "Oh, you missed me?" He nodded and a blush spread across his face. The tension and uneasiness inside the car was starting to become unbearable and this was not going at all like either one of them had hoped. Neither of them could think of a way to bring up what was foremost on their minds at the moment. Taking a breath, she prepared herself to start a conversation that she hoped would help. "Do you. do you remember when I told you about Kiyone?" 'Oh no,' he thought. 'She going to tell me she has a new partner and likes him a lot.' He gulped and very weakly answered, "Yes." "Well, after returning to Central, my grandfather told me that Kiyone was still alive." His eyes shot open and he looked at her, confused. "I know, I thought she was gone, too, but it seems that somehow Hisato saved her and the two of them ended up in a freighter way out in the fringe systems." "Hisato?" "Oh, you remember me telling you about the pirate that was stealing the ultra energy?" He just nodded in response, and she continued. "Well, Hisato was the pirate and she saved Kiyone's life! After Kiyone recovered from her injuries she worked on the freighter for some time." Her voice turned sad and he glanced over at her. She looked so sad at this moment and he wished he knew what to do or say. "She's quit, though." "Quit? Quit what?" "The Galaxy Police; she resigned to stay with her family on the freighter." He looked back and forth from her to the road for a moment. "She's got a family now?" Seeing her nod and the unshed tears, he knew that this was affecting her, too. "What do you know of her family?" He hoped that this would help, but a part of his mind picked out something else; and he thought for a moment that Mihoshi wasn't really sad about her partner but about herself. "Well, she resigned and my grandfather granted her an early retirement. They have a child, and my grandfather also gave her sister-in-law a full pardon." Her face was starting to radiate a strange joy as she talked about her friend, and he knew that Mihoshi was truly happy about this. But there was one problem. "Sister-in-law? Who is she, and why give her a pardon?" Mihoshi started laughing, and between laughs told him that the pirate Hisato was Kiyone's sister-in-law through marriage as they married brothers! Nobuyuki too had to laugh at the strange twist of fate that brought an officer and a pirate into the same family. Of course, it is not that unusual of an idea, as his own son is considered a prince of a planet that his wife once nearly destroyed. "Sounds like our family," he said with a slight glint to his eye. "Hum, yeah. It is." Mihoshi smiled, too, as he seemed to be relaxing a bit more. When he smiled, she thought he looked rather cute and rather dignified in that suit. She was about to say something when he pulled into a parking lot. At this time of day there were a fair number of cars, but the lot was not even half filled, so she was hopeful that this would be a wonderful dinner. He parked the car and they walked the short distance to the door. He told the man just inside the door they had reservations and his name. They were then led to a booth off to the side and, as she had hoped, it was pretty empty at this moment. Though she figured even if there was standing room only she would enjoy just being with him. She had no clue that he was feeling the same way at the moment, though. They enjoyed a quiet dinner with the only interruptions being the waiter. She told him about her time in the central office and a few minor details about her patrol. After that, he told her about general life on Earth. They talked and ate for what seemed like hours and to the waiter it was too long. He thought for a while that they would never leave; but when he saw the tip, he forgot about how long they stayed. After their dinner they went for a stroll through a nearby park. He had originally intended for them to take a carriage ride through it, but he was not sure what she would say about that, at least right now. She noticed the carriage and was about to ask for a ride when he turned down a sidewalk leading away from it. As time passed he began to debate within himself, 'Ask her, you dolt!' To which his other side would respond, "yeah, right! Like she will say yes. She's got a new partner.' The other voice grumbled and replied, 'She hasn't said a word about him. Besides, if you never ask, you'll never know, and then what? What if she leaves again? You'll never get a second chance.' Neither he nor his other voice could debate that logic. He looked up and saw a stone bench just ahead of them. Steering her over to it he tried to build up his courage. Motioning her to sit down he sat next to her, but still a slight distance apart. "Mihoshi, um. I have a question for you, but before I ask. Could you tell me something?" "Um, sure." She started getting nervous. "What, um. are you." He groaned and thought of a way to say it, but he could not think of a way to ask what was on his mind. "Why haven't you told me about your partner?" Instantly he knew he'd blown it; that was the wrong way to say it and from the annoyed look on her face it seemed to reinforce that. Her face held a disgusted look for a moment, (if it is possible for her to look that way), then finally through clenched teeth she answered, "Because I don't want to talk about the jerk right now." She then, despite her own comment about not wanting to talk about him, went on a short rant about him. He learned all too quickly how single-minded she thought he was and through her ranting he was able to pick out that she could not stand him. But from what he said earlier, it sounded like they were much closer. 'He must have lied! That's it! It has to be! He's wanting to leave and he thought that would be the fastest way!' As his mind mulled through this, a grin started to spread across his face. Mihoshi, who had continued ranting up to that point, saw his smile and calmed down suddenly. It took a few moments before his mind suddenly came back to him. Looking back at her he noticed she was looking at him worriedly, 'She's worried about me!' He took one of her hands and calmed himself down. "I'm sorry, it's just. oh never mind what I thought. Mihoshi, since you left I've been miserable." He looked at her expectantly and he said inwardly, 'There, I said it. Now to say the rest.' He searched her eyes a moment and he could see that she felt the same. So with a renewed hope, he continued. "I've thought a lot about it. Ever since Achika left, I've distanced myself from women, until you came along. Now, I can't keep you off my mind. Even my boss knew that I think of you all the time." As he spoke, her face turned a bright red, even redder than her usual tan. But with hearing how she felt for her partner, his fears seemed to have vanished. "I'm not sure how you feel for me, but I have to tell you what I feel. I can't in good conscience let you get away from me again so easily. Mihoshi Kuramitsu. I love you! I have loved you for some time, though I've been too thick-headed to admit it." He looked into her eyes. She was smiling and the light in her eyes seemed to radiate out and illuminate everything. Though that was his own imagination, he did not care. But, there was still one thing left to ask. "I've thought about this a lot, Mihoshi. Will you marry me?" Silence reigned after he had asked. The light was still there but she seemed to be shocked speechless, unable to move. "I know I'm a bit older, but Ryoko's several thousand years older than Tenchi and age is nothing to them. I didn't think it would be for us either." He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small box. He could hear her voice catch in her throat as he opened it towards her, offering her the ring. Slowly, a tear formed in the corner of her eye. Leaving her eye, it made its way down her cheek almost to her jaw before he wiped it away. As his hand touched her cheek, he let it linger there for a moment as she pressed her cheek into it and smiled. The light he thought he saw from her seemed to double at that moment and, as her mind and body came back to the present, she opened her mouth to speak. Her first word was too soft to hear, but she kept repeating it over and over until he could hear it; and, even then, it took a moment before he realized what it was. "Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!" With the final one, she lunged for him and, wrapping her arms around him, they shared their first kiss as an engaged couple. Several of those around them frowned at such a reaction and a few snide comments about a man of his age kissing such a young woman were made. But no one moved past actually muttering something, as even to those casual observers it was plain that they loved each other. When they finally parted, she asked him, "Can we take that carriage ride now?" This time he was delighted to, and for the next hour they rested in the back of the carriage like young lovers as they slowly went around the park. As they rode along, she rested against him and stared at the ring he had given her. It was beautiful by Earth standards, though on other worlds it could be called homely. But to her, it was better than anything on this world or off. There were several questions that ran through their heads, though they dared not mention them out in the open. The first was what about her patrol? Should she continue to go into space and if she is later reassigned to another sector, what then? Was she to leave him behind or could he follow her? And did she want to leave again? The furthest thing from their minds was how much longer could they be together because of his age. By human standards, he was getting near fifty and that was a good age. But to her, that would be still pretty young. By the time either of them had noticed, it was getting pretty late. They were walking beside a small lake headed back towards his car. "Mihoshi?" "Yes?" "I. I don't, um." he realized what he was about to ask and it seemed in poor taste to invite her to his apartment in town right after asking her to marry him. The fact that they had shared the same roof for so long completely slipped past him at the moment. She let out a big yawn. "I'm getting sleepy. Don't you have an apartment near here?" "You don't want to go home?" He tried to keep the surprise out of his voice though he failed. "I just don't want to have to put up with him yet. I had to keep him locked in his room to make the trip back to here." He suddenly started laughing as she told him this and she looked at him strangely. "What?" "Well, he said you can be very persuasive at times; now I see why." He was laughing so hard tears threatened to stream down his face. She thought about it and began to laugh, too. The two of them walked back to his car and made the short trip to his apartment. Though he was a bit nervous about spending time alone with her, it soon passed as he realized she wanted to spend time with him, alone. The fact that he had been wrong about her partner's comments made him happy. Then, to discover that not only did she love him but also she was now engaged to him, gave him a smile so big it just wouldn't go away. They reached his apartment about an hour later, and he suddenly realized something that almost took his smile away. His bed was not very big. Actually, the whole apartment wasn't very big. After stepping in, he gathered some sheets and a pillow. "Mihoshi, you take the bed, I'll sleep out here." She looked at him with a most disapproving look. "No, this is your place. You take the bed." "I can't put you out here on the couch, it." At her look, he stopped and, still with his goofy grin, he told her calmly, "I can see that we share the bed or we share the couch, right?" She just nodded her head and interestingly a strange grin appeared on her lips. "OK. Then how about the bed? The couch is a bit small," he offered with a cheesy grin of his own. Now with that problem out of the way, she pointed out the next one. "I guess the only thing left to decide is.who gets the shower first?" He told her that ladies were to go first, so after showing her to the shower he went about getting ready himself. It was then that he realized she didn't bring any other clothes with her, so he dug through his clothes till he found a nightshirt and one of his robes for her to wear. Standing outside the bathroom door holding them, he was reminded of doing the same thing with Achika once. While they did not spend their first night together, it was about a month before their wedding and they had taken a trip out of town. One of their bags, which happened to be the one with her clothes, had been lost, so he had to share his with her until they found the lost luggage. Luckily it was turned in the next day, as one of the bellboys had gotten it mixed in with someone else's. The door opened suddenly and he immediately straightened. "Hey, Nobuy." she called, then stopped seeing him right there. "Oh, sorry, um, do you." He handed her the clothes in his hand and she thanked him before closing the door. His hand was still slightly wet from where her hand had touched and he realized that she had not toweled off yet. She had only opened the door part way, but he could see her tanned form in the bathroom mirror rather well for that brief moment. He hurried off to get ready for his shower and he knew this was not going to be one of those nights that he gets to sleep early. Passing the phone, he saw he had a few new messages. Pressing the play button he heard his boss' voice. "Oh, Nobuyuki, did you forget something today? I have your plans, your briefcase and your jacket here in my office. If you want to see them again you had better propose to that girl and bring me a picture of her. I think I have a right to see who is on your mind when it is supposed to be on work." He could hear his boss laughing over this and even he began to laugh at his boss' antics. The next message was from his son who happened to have finally gotten home. "Dad, this guy at the house is going to be sleeping on the couch. So if you come home tonight, keep it quiet." "Yeah, if he comes home!" The voice in the background was Ryoko's; he'd stake his life on it. "Ryoko! Well, um. yeah. Anyway, Dad, goodnight." "Tell Mihoshi goodnight for us, too!" he heard Ryo-Ohki say. "Ya might give her a kiss goodnight, too; she'd enjoy it!" "Ryoko!" There was a good bit of laughing before the phone finally hung up. The last message almost had him worried though; it was his father-in- law. "Nobuyuki. You will meet me by Funaho, my tree, tomorrow around noon. Come alone." That was what worried him the most. He was to meet him tomorrow, but he had to be at work tomorrow as well. He played the message again and he knew that with his father-in-law's tone there was not a chance of getting out of it. Picking up his phone he called his boss' phone to leave him a message that he would not be in tomorrow. What he did not expect was to hear a message on the greeting personally for him. "This is Henzo Gemondo, Senior Supervisor, please leave me a message if you are not Nobuyuki. If this is you, Nobuyuki, I'm giving you a few days off to get your personal affairs in order and you are to return to work on Monday. So you had better come to work ready to work hard, and don't forget my picture!" He could hear his boss laughing, and he nearly dropped the phone when it beeped for him to leave a message. Hastily he hung up the phone and grinned. 'I don't have to go to work tomorrow!' When Mihoshi came out of the bathroom he grabbed her in a big hug and placed a kiss on her lips. The move was sudden and she almost screamed, but then calmed down and returned the kiss. Once he realized what he was doing he nearly dropped her, but to his surprise and joy she held not only on to him but the kiss as well. When she finally pulled away from him, they were both a little flushed. Somehow, he told her not only about being off work for the rest of the week, but also about the other calls, including having to meet his father-in-law. "That means we have to go back?" She replied sadly. He looked at her and realized she was not really looking forward to going back, as she seemed to be reluctant to leave here. "You don't want to go?" "I, well. you see.." As she stumbled over her words, he just held her close. "Don't worry about him, or it. At least not for tonight." She nodded against him then pulled away as he moved to the bathroom to take his shower. While in the shower he took the coldest shower, his body could stand, as he knew that with her lying in bed beside him he wouldn't get much sleep. 'Perhaps when she's asleep I should move to the couch?' He half chuckled and realized that if he did that she would be upset with him in the morning. Besides, he had picked out the couch to be comfortable to sit in, but the times he slept in it, he was sore the next day. Grinning a stupid grin, he prepared for a restless night, as he was to sleep beside Mihoshi. He found out later that it would be a very restful night; not only did he sleep beside her, but she held on to him as she slept. For so long she had slept alone; she made sure to enjoy having someone beside her.