Tightening her coat around her, Louise makes her way out of a train station filled with people in their office attire like her, commuting in the morning to their offices.

She's strutting on the sidewalk when suddenly, a Japanese man blocks her way. He greets her in Japanese and offers her a piece of paper. She returned the polite gesture and accepted the paper from him, only to discover that it was an advertisement for a Japanese porn store.

She didn't even let the man finish what he was saying as she swung the hard leather bag that she equips with her everyday as a weapon, almost hitting him, and then ran away with her heels. Fleeing the scene.

She leans outside a nearby building, catching her breath, when a woman comes out of the fancy door and greets her sweetly in Japanese.

"Ohayo Gozaimashita! May I help you? You can come inside so we can help you choose. We have variety of products!"

"Oh no, I'm just—" she looks up, and she realizes it was a sex toy shop.

Louise didn't know how she got out of the situation. She found herself inside a convenience store, leaning on a magazine standee to calm her ass down. At least in the place, she looks safe from everything that has been bothering her lately.

She doesn't know how, but crazy things seem to have started to happen ever since that fateful night where she first experienced those otherworldly feelings...

Those moments where she almost did it with Ojiro, and it didn't happen just once but twice. First in her apartment, where she almost had a panic attack, and second in his car after the closing banquet of Worlds, only to get interrupted by his coach and almost get caught.

The feeling of Ojiro's warm kisses on her bare skin and how his strong hands grip her thighs and breasts

She couldn't get it out of her mind ever since.

It was as if he awakened new feelings, discovering something new in her body. Like he introduced her to a forbidden fruit that she's craving and has been driving her wild.

A group of high school girls goes out of the convenience after her. They got her attention as they unwrapped the popsicles that they bought from the konbini.

It was as if Louise's six senses became sharp; it looked like everything to her was suddenly in slow motion. She clearly hears the plastic wrap echoes in the air, uncovering an erect, hard, frozen Popsicle. The girl's tongue sticks out, licking the tip in a lewd slurp of wet sounds.

God I can't take this anymore!

She closed her eyes, shaking her head to get the images out of her mind.

Just as she receives a message from Ojiro, he tells her that if everything goes according to plan tonight, he can travel from his ice show tour stop in Yokohama to Minato and drop by her apartment.

Really?! That's great!

If things do not go as planned. You can just rest in your hotel room.

Don't' over work yourself, okay? She replied back.

And he gave her anxieties again.

She spends all morning at work, unconsciously staring into nothing.

He really needs to come over while I'm having an existential crisis huh?!

While eating lunch, he texted her, informing her that he'd make it to Minato by 9 p.m.

I'll see you then. Do you want anything for dinner?

Aside from giving her anxieties and sexual fantasies, this is one of the moments in Louise's life where he gives her reasons to prepare herself for a war.

A war in the kitchen.

As she introduced Ojiro to Mexican food, he mostly preferred to eat traditional Japanese food, especially when he just got off from work, which Louise was not very good at.

She has varieties of Japanese food favorites, but she got so used to living alone that she doesn't care if her tempura gets burned or her onigiris are misshapen.

But every time Ojiro comes over, she makes sure to whip up something that he will like. And that drains her energy and patience faster than trying to balance herself on ice.

***

Thirty minutes past nine, a knock came into the door, just as Louise was finishing preparing dinner. She was still on her apron when she answered the door, and she got greeted by Ojiro, who was wearing a thick black coat, a face mask on his face, and dark shades as a disguise.

"Come inside quick. Are you sure no one recognizes you?" she asks as she assists him with his luggage, closing the door immediately.

"The coast looks clear, and it's so dark outside. The street lights look busted," he responded while taking off his gym shoes and then he put them neatly in the cabinet by the door.

"Ojama shimasu." he uttered as he bowed to the photo of Louise's mom in the ofrenda when he enters the place.

"Give me that—" Louise is helping him take off his coat when she suddenly becomes more conscious of him than she remembered.

How sharp his jaws are, how thick and longer his hair has become now, and how beautiful he looks while he wears a frown between his brows and a tiny trickle of sweat runs down his cheeks.

Ojiro looks at her cluelessly.

"Nande?" he asks.

"Hurry up! the food is getting cold," she growls in between the nervous beatings of her heart.

Ojiro fell into silence, wondering if it was one of her girlfriend's sudden mood swings again that he had already gotten used to.

"Do you have other pair of slippers?"

"Just bend over there—", she almost collapses where she stands at the sight of her boyfriend's perfectly toned butt in his tight pants as he reaches for the slippers.

"—can't find them."

"Ay! You're so slow!" she growls again.

She grabs the slippers behind the small rack of shoes and hands them to him. She quickly takes note of how visible the veins are in his arm, bulging all the way to his biceps. The result of his years of athletic training.

Louise swallows to her throat, which is now dry.

"You seem off; are you alright?", he moves for a closer look at her face, which she quickly dodges, turning away from him.

"Go to your seat now, Ojiro. Don't you dare make me repeat that to you again."

"Hai, hai." he responds in defeat. "Hey, I got some chipotle and barbacoa. I know you really like them."

She gives the take out he's holding a look of approval.

Ojiro always knew how to lift her mood.

"So, how's the show?" she asks, diverting her attention to anything but her boyfriend in front of her.

They sit on her small dining table while eating dinner. She cooked a Japanese curry, which is the easiest favorite dish of Ojiro to make.

He just shrugs, picking a vegetable with his chopsticks. "Good. I did great with my jumps without getting any injuries."

He goes on talking again about Lutz, the Loops, and Toe, which he can't help but mention every time that he gets the chance to discuss figure skating with her, which he really enjoys, while Louise's mind flies out somewhere, staring at Ojiro's mouth.

And there she goes again with the slow motion as he bites off the meat with his white teeth and a sauce drips down the side of his red lips. Louise was so aware of how he licked it with his tongue and how his lips creates smacking sounds, making her brace herself on the edge of her seat.

"Louise? Hey—" he waves his chopsticks to her face.

She blinks, immediately forcing herself to get back to reality.

"Wow, that's really good!" she responds in her usual fakeness.

"Err...really good what? That Nanabe-san broke his arm?"

"Oh..."

"Hey, come on...are you sure everything's alright, Louise? You know, you can always talk to me about anything, right?"

And now he thinks that I'm having episodes of anxiety attacks again.

He still didn't really give up on changing her mind and agree for a therapy, which she already turned down a millionth time.

Louise looks straight into his eyes. She doesn't even know what she wanted to say, where to start. But after sometimes, with a lot of searching and lighting of candles listening to the whispers of her dead ancestors, Louise finally grasps the mystery behind these unexplainable things that've been happening.

She finally knows what she wants now.

Him.

She wants Ojiro on top of her, like right now.

She wanted him to touch her again, to unbutton her blouse, bury his face to her naked skin.

She wanted him to continue what they had started.

Rip my clothes off of me!

Choke me!

DISRESPECT ME!

But how can she tell him that? She doesn't know.

All she knows is to go on and try by giving him a SIGN.

"I'm alright. Maybe just tired...want some dessert?"

"No, I'm good."

Ojiro was not much of a fan of sweets, as he's quite the obsessive type of maintaining his body, fit for lighter jumps on ice.

But Louise won't give up.

She reaches for a banana from the small basket of fruits on the table and carefully peels it off, uncovering the long and fat fruit. And then she put it in her mouth, slowly, pushing it slightly further inside.

Louise made sure Ojiro was looking, wishing he would finally get the message.

"Wow, you really like banana, huh?"

"I'm craving for it lately," she responds in an extra flirty tone.

Ojiro fishes out his phone from his pocket and starts tapping on it.

"What are you doing?" Louise asks.

"I'm messaging Minoru-san. He will be here by tomorrow to deliver bananas from our farm. I'm expanding business now by developing fruit-flavored energy drinks. Try them, it's good!"

Louise purses her lips as she stares at her unsuspecting boyfriend, just lost for words.

She loves Ojiro, but sometimes he can bring out the worst in her.

After cleaning the kitchen, Louise grabs the bananas from the basket and throws them all in the garbage. Just the sight of it triggers all her anger and frustrations in the world.

When she went back to Ojiro to try her luck again on showing signs, she found him already snoring on her futon. He didn't even position himself neatly, so she moves and carefully tucked him in like a small child.

Louise couldn't help but sigh, watching him sleep.

He looks really tired.

She remembered how he worked hard to lead the skaters on the ice show tour. She would only get a glimpse of him on TV at work, from the news segments that filmed the behind-the-scenes rehearsals. She could see how hands-on he is, preferring not to be distracted by anything by not even updating her during shows so he can put his full concentration into pulling off his jumps.

She brushes aside carefully the thick strands of his hair and kisses him on the cheek.

It's crazy for her on how the man who sleeps like a baby in front of her is the one who awakens a lot of new feelings in her body, and if the time comes, she would want to explore them with him.

After changing into her sleeping wear, Louise slips in beside Ojiro under the thick blanket. His arms automatically wraps around her while he's half asleep.

Louise hand emerges under the blanket, pulling the lamp's string beside her and turning the lights off.

***

The next day, just as promised. A delivery of bananas has made to Lousie's apartment after she got off from work.

And by delivery, Ojiro didn't inform her it was all in crates.

Lousie stands in her small kitchen, looking at the tower of bananas in front of her.

"Gedemet, Ojiro, I want YOUR banana, not this banana!" she shrieks kicking the towering containers in front of her repeatedly with her favorite Jimmy Choo boots.