Chapter 8

Eriol heard footsteps walking away.He couldn't exactly point out the reason why he enjoyed her company so much despite her obvious dislike of him she never bothered to hide.He liked her wit,volatile temper and the spontaneity of her emotions.He liked how she wasn't intimidated by his name and power,and he liked how he stood fearlessly for her convictions.He had never met any woman who could compare to her.

She wa fiery,stubborn and was too much of her own woman,but sometimes she could be sensitive,sweet and tender-hearted,as he saw awhile ago when she granted his request to stay despite her reservations.

He lied down and closed his eyes,thoughts still on his geisha.



Tomoyo lied down her bed at the same time too.Obake was certainly puzzling tonight.She sensed vulnerability in him,which was the last thing she had expected from an over-bearing buta like him.

And his smile of gratitude..it nearly took her breath away.She had grudgingly admitted that the english obake was as handsome as the devil himself,yet when he smiled,he looked like an angel.She was smiled at by so many people a couple of thousand times before,but not one had sent her into confusion the way he did.

She resented the way he was making her feel.She hated his tolerance on her insults,his cute-and clever retorts,his sexy amused voice,and his persistent attempts to gap their bridge.

Demo..

No way!No siree!She would never get cozy with an overweening,land-grabbing blackmailing stranger like him.

Ne-ver.



The next morning..

"Ohayou,Obake!"Tomoyo placed the food tray down and fixed the plates.

"Good morning,Bijin."Eriol got up.

"You look so handsome today."she said with a smirk when she noticed the black circles around his eyes.

"Funny,but you're sporting the same look."he countered teasingly.

Tomoyo's cheek flushed."I-I was sewing."

"Sewing?"

"I was mending my kimono.How about you?Don't tell me you didn't sleep last night!"

"Fine,I won't tell you."he coyly replied.

She smiled."That was corny."

"Anything to make you smile like that,Bijin."He frowned when he saw his meal."This doesn't look like the omelette I ordered."

"It isn't.I want you to taste a Japanese' favorite dish,sushi."she replied.

He hesitantly picked up his chopsticks and sampled one piece.He chewed thoughtfully before he grinned."This is good."He hungrily devoured his breakfast as Tomoyo watched him with a sly smile on her face.

"That was the best breakfast I had for ages!By the way,what are the ingredients of this sushi?"he asked curiously.

"Rice,uncooked sakana and some stuff thrown in."

"Sakana?Is that a kind of vegetable?"he guessed.

"No,that is how we call a fish in our local language."

Eriol's face turned green before he dashed into the bathroom.



"Are you ok now?"asked Tomoyo vexingly when he got out weakly.

He sighed.He felt his stomach was turned upside down."I survived."He sat down across the table she was using and looked at the piles of paper strewn on it."What are you doing?"

"Origami."

"Origami?"

"Paper folding."She gestured to her finished paper cranes."I'm making these through folding."After a few minutes,she produced a paper crane."See?I didn't cut it or anything."

"Wow!"he said in awe.The art wasn't taught to him yet."Can you teach me?"

She blinked before she shrugged carelessly."Ok,although I don't know why you would be interested."She taught him the folding instructions.

Minutes later,Eriol finished his first paper bird."There!I'm sure my friends will love this.I think I'll teach them how to do this."He turned to her."My friends are coming over tonight for dinner."

"Your English friends?"she asked skeptically.

"Don't worry,they don't bite."he said.

"So I guess Nakuru and I better head to the market."she said.

"Nakuru's busy already with cleaning the house.Why don't you let me accompany you instead?"he offered.

"You?Go to the market?"She could imagine Eriol in his expensive lily-white coat bidding prices with a fruit vendor.

"Why not?I can help you carry the things you shopped for."he said.

"Ok."She smiled to herself.She was excited to see what a naive rich man would do when he finds himself in a peasant's utopia.

"This would surely be fun."she thought.

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