Owner of a Lonely Heart

	Bah!  I didn't need her or her pictures.  I wasn't losing
anything.  I only gained money by not funneling it into her hands.  I
could do without her photos...  I _could_ do without her photos.
	I sat in my room, trying to meditate.  It had been a week since
the speech contest, a week since I had bought any new pictures of the
goddess.
	My eyes opened slightly to view her pictures that adorned my
room.  There were even a precious few with me in them.  I felt my
state of peace shatter when I thought about how much those had cost
me.
	My meditation was completely ruined.  How dare she?  How _could_
she?  She caused such problems for the normal workings of my mind.
Even my sister was easier to handle than she was.
	I found myself looking at the largest concentration of pictures,
but not really seeing them.  How could she distract me even from the
goddess?  My thoughts darkened.  If only there was some way to take my
re...  No.  That was wrong and would accomplish nothing.  I released
the breath I had been holding.
	I stood up slowly.  The past week weighed heavily on my mind.  I
had been distracted every day at school and had purposely avoided
Nabiki Tendo.  I sat down on my bed, wishing for the day to end.
	I felt wholly disconnected from myself.  I looked at the clock,
grimacing at the fact that it was only 6 PM.  I started to wonder if
my sister had slipped one of her experiments in my lunch when I began
to feel sick to my stomach.
	My mind found itself wandering back to the nefarious trick of
Nabiki Tendo.  Insincere or not, I couldn't shake the memory of it, it
tormented me.  My nausea increased.  I felt something strange in my
chest.  I took two quick breaths when it felt like my heart skipped
a beat.
	I almost resorted to cursing.  The position I was in was
completely unworthy of a samurai.  I laid back on the bed and noticed,
through my hakama, my chest was not the only thing reacting to the
memory of that kiss.
	I lifted my head to look at the distasteful occurrence.  I
refused to believe that that woman could do such things to me.  I
looked at it, but it wouldn't go away.  I dropped my head back to the
bed and slammed my fist down.
	"Damn!"

	"Nabiki Tendo.  I wish to speak with you."
	"Sure, Kuno-chan.  What's up?"
	I winced at her terminology.  "Nabiki Tendo, I..."  She was
looking at me with a slight smile on her face.  I couldn't say that
what she had done had excited me and hurt me.  These were feelings I
could not give in to.  Especially when she caused them.
	"What is it, Kuno-chan?"  She was still smiling.
	"I..."
	"I bet you want more pictures.  Well, I've got some real doozies
for you."  She pulled out some photos and I knew I could never express
what she had done to me, I could never say how she made me feel.