Welcome to Gaia! ::

ARGH! Run for the hills!

The moment Sayuri nodded, Oz's gut twisted. He had little to fear of most other men, especially now this his muscle had ballooned, but that didn't mean he wanted to cause a problem. Had Oz known who Sayuri's Danna was, he would have reacted very differently.

Oz chewed his tongue in thought.

"So a Danna sort of looks after you?" he asked, hoping not to sound too ignorant. He needed to know more if he was to understand Sayuri's problem.

Oz nodded as he picked up the general idea of a Danna, although the 'pillow time' thing was a little uncomfortable. It shouldn't have bothered him, since this sounded almost like every man's dream - you can have a wife AND a bit on the side.

But Oz wasn't Japanese and he guessed there was a whole lot more to it than the surface value of entertaining men. Hence why Sayuri would be so upset.

"So now you're worried that your Danna would find out you liked me," he stated, almost recounting her plight. "Is it because you're afraid to...disappoint him...or because you like him too...?"

The questions seemed to tumbles from Oz's mouth with as much difficulty as Sayuri might find answering them! He wasn't a good thinker.

At this moment in time, Oz was SO glad he was born with that Y chromosome. He also realised he was lousy at relationship stuff. He had no idea what to do! A part of him (and you can guess which part) wanted to keep Sayuri, but another part of him knew he'd been taking advantage of her innocence and was now paying the price. And yet another part of him didn't want to see her upset.

No, you shouldn't like me. I'm violent, I drunk, I'm a slob...

He gave a sigh, his great form slumping. He gave Sayuri another gentle squeeze, a soft smile slowly coming to his face. This was nice, he didn't want to lose it. But he shouldn't be dissuading Sayuri from her duties or her culture...

"You know I'll always be here for you Sayuri," he said, sweeping her into an impromptu hug. "I think you should be allowed to do whatever you like, since its more fun."

Well, at least she's got over the whole grey and grotesque thing...

Even though Sayuri didn't vocally confirm a new lease on life, Oz was just glad she had cheered up enough to be hugged. His chest muscles felt almost bruised, but the pain was mild enough to shrug away as Sayuri rested her head.

And then she started to...move a bit closer in. That sort of happy awkwardness that he'd felt last time returned to Oz, and her request for more kissing lessons almost seemed to take on another meaning in his head.

"Umm, okay. What would you like to know next?" he asked carefully. Maybe she'd lead the way this time.

"Right, okay. Well, it might be a little wrong for me to actually kiss you in some of these parts, but I can show you," he said, the cheeky grin returning his ugly mug again.

He leaned in to kiss her neck again, this time lingering for a little longer, placing several small kisses in succession on her delicate neck. Oh god that taste! Why did he crave it so much? Was it Sayuri herself? Or just the fact she was an attractive female?

"Right I've already shown you about kissing on the neck. When you kiss a bloke...errr...man, you can sometimes kiss them on the shoulders too," he said, having to correct his English slang so Sayuri would understand. He pointed to his now bulky shoulders, plus his shoulder-blades too.

"And then there's the stomach," he said, lightly poking Sayuri's tummy.

Ohhhh...why did she have to go and do that...

Oz shivered a little as Sayuri kissed his shoulder. He hadn't been kissed there in such a long time, he could feel his nerves groaning and aching for more. He tried his best to mask that flash of pleasure with enthusiastic praise.

"Yeah, just like that," he forced a smile.

And then she wriggled further into his lap. He should have been wanting this, possibly his first chance to get some action! And if he was honest with himself, he wasn't totally above misleading Sayuri into bed. So what was the problem? Her naivety? Or her tail?

"Well...it would be wrong because...some places are...err...'special,'" he began, feeling quite awkward trying to explain this. "Like your 'circle' for instance. Men can kiss that...and it should feel nice...but only a boyfriend or partner should kiss it."

Of course, that wasn't how it always worked, but Oz was spinning Sayuri a tale of relationships that she'd much prefer to hear.

His heart thumped in his cavernous chest, and that strange tingling feeling you get when something is looming started in the pit of his stomach and creeped all the way up his spine.

For a few brief moments, he cradled Sayuri, pulling her closer still to just bathe in the warmth shared between them. And without realising it, he found himself lightly kissing her neck again. A hand had somehow started to stroke the length of her back...until he reached the first scaly texture of her tail.

And then the reality came screeching back. His body was willing...VERY WILLING...but the spirit grappled with giving into lust and simply taking Sayuri, or developing something with her first.

"I...I..." he began.

"Nothing's wrong," he hurried to say, gently stroking Sayuri on the cheek, as if to reassure her. "...at least not with you..."

He leaned back slightly, widening the physical gap between their bodies. Maybe...if he wasn't touching her...he could think straight. And the fact Sayuri was reacting in all the right ways to his touch only made things harder...in more ways than one.