Shampoo looked at the huge pile of treasures that almost reached the ceiling and said, "Aiyaah." "Got that right, Cousin," said Perfume with a nod. "Oh my," Kasumi commented softly. "However did you manage to steal so many things without getting caught?" "It was easy," Ranma revealed as she continued to pull the stolen Amazon treasures out of subspace with the aid of Kodachi. "Everybody was at this big annual tournament and while they were gone we went in their huts and--" "Steal many precious treasures," Perfume interrupted with a scowl. She narrowed her eyes and said, "Still not see piece that I interested in. And if I not seeing it soon..." "No need for threats, my axe wielding beauty," said Kodachi smoothly while she continued to add treasures to the massively growing pile. "We'll find it soon enough." "You better," Perfume growled menacingly in tones that were oddly melodic for some reason. Cologne turned away from the huge pile of jewels then looked at Shampoo and asked, "What's this I hear about you hospitalizing a good portion of your classmates?" "Eh," Shampoo gave a nervous laugh while she held her hands behind her back. "You hear about that?" "Your Principal called me," Cologne informed. Her eyes were lidded as she said, "As much as I find your actions displeasing I'm more curious as to how you managed it. I've never known your attacks to be that powerful, Shampoo." Blinking at this, Shampoo formed a perplexed expression as she murmured, "That good point. Shampoo not sure how she defeat stupid boys so fast and hard. They attack and I fight back and it over before Shampoo know it." While Shampoo and Cologne mulled over this, the front door to the building flew open to reveal Tatewaki's raging figure. "Saotome," hissed Tatewaki in low tones as he held his katana in attack position. "You will pay for your lies!" Ranma slowly looked up from the pile of treasures to face Tatewaki and winced as she said, "Not again." --- It didn't look like a psychiatrist's office. Then again, Akane didn't know what a psychiatrists office looked like but she didn't think that it looked like this. With various multicolored curtains, the smell of burning incense, and low toned R&B music playing from a nearby stereo system it more looked like a bachelor pad. That impression was enforced by the sight of several hundred framed pictures of various lovely ladies on his wall. And then there was the Doctor himself. Dressed in a pair of black pants and a white silk shirt that was opened to reveal his well toned and tanned chest, Dr. Akihito looked more like a movie star than a psychiatrist. Especially how his teeth would always sparkle each time that he smiled at Akane. "So, Akane," said Akihito as he pushed back a stray lock of his curly blue hair. "Tell me about these love problems of yours. What's going on, chickadee?" "Well," Akane began who tore her eyes away from the wall plastered with pictures of sexy women. "There's this girl I like and I just can't stop thinking about her. I even joined her fan club. But I don't know much about her." "I see," Akihito mused thoughtfully. He leaned back in his black leather chair and asked, "And why do you think that you like this girl so much, Akane?" "I don't know," said Akane slowly. "At first I thought it was because she's so pretty. I mean, she's really pretty! I've never seen anyone as pretty as her before, Doctor." "A real looker, huh?" asked Akihito as he flashed a charming smile. "I can dig that. But somehow I'm guessing that it's more than that, isn't it Akane?" Moving to sit crossed legged on the Doctor's purple loveseat, Akane said excitedly, "Exactly! I thought it was because she was pretty but I just can't stop thinking about her. I've seen and liked plenty of pretty girls and boys but I never thought about them all of the time." "A valid point," said Akihito. He turned around in his chair and gazed out of his window as he asked, "How much do you know about this girl that you like, Akane?" "Just her name," Akane revealed with a sigh. "Oh? And may I ask her name?" Akihito pursued. "It's Chocolate," replied Akane brightly. She smiled and said, "Isn't that an unusual name? But it suits her." "She must be sweet," said Akihito humorously. "So you know her name. How many times have you talked with her, Akane? Is she a terribly shy girl?" "I'm not sure," murmured Akane. "I've only talked to her once. You see, I was running home after soccer practice and she came falling out the sky and into my arms. I took her to the hospital and we talked some there. But then she just jumped out of the window and disappeared." Akane paused to shake her head and exclaimed, "She was just so fast!" Musing over this, Akihito leaned forward on his desk and rested his chin on the palms of his hands. "Hmm," he said quietly to himself. Looking up to meet Akane's eyes, Akihito said, "Tell me about this club that you've joined." "It's called the Chocoholics," said Akane. "And it's a fan club for her. I'm the only girl in it so far, but I really think that's only because not very many people know her yet." "And why is that?" asked Akihito in careful tones. "I don't know," Akane said as she wore a thoughtful expression and looked at the ceiling. "Probably because she has this habit of running off and disappearing a lot." "So she has a tendency to run away from people?" Akihito noted while his dark blue eyes grew thoughtful. "Apparently," said Akane with a sigh. "I think that it might have something to do with her being from China." "I see," said Akihito softly. He looked Akane in the eyes and said solemnly, "Before I tell you my thoughts I have to know what it is you want, Akane. What do you wish to gain from my counsel?" "Well," Akane said slowly as her brow furrowed in thought. She looked up at him and said, "I guess that I want to find a way to talk to Chocolate without her running away." Nodding his head at this, Akihito leaned back in his chair and said, "I think that I can help you, Akane." "Really?" Akane asked brightly as she leapt up and onto her feet. "Please tell me how, Doctor!" For a response, Akihito formed another charming smile before he began to explain his professional advice. --- Narrowing her hazel eyes, Nabiki stared at her target. Just one more try and she'd break her previous record and would have something that her iinazuke valued greatly. Taking a deep breath, Nabiki took her shot. "All right! You did it, Nabs!" Looking at the downed figure of a small duck in the fairground firing range she was playing at, Nabiki smirked as she observed Ryoga jumping up and down excitedly. "Congratulations," said the game owner wearily. He then handed over the last of his prizes over to the girl who'd been cleaning him out for the past hour along with her boyfriend. With a smile, Nabiki took the prize from the game owner and turned to Ryoga who was beaming at her while he shifted the large pile of prizes that he had in his arms. "Here you go, Ryoga-kun," said Nabiki. "Your very own hugable and plush Lina Inverse doll." His brown eyes sparkling in a manner that Nabiki found both childlike and charming, Ryoga grinned at the little sorceress doll that laid on top of the pile of prizes he held. "Thanks," Ryoga said with a fanged smile. "I love the show. I watch it with Mom, she really likes the explosions." "Can't beat action and humor in a good show," Nabiki replied easily. "And I liked winning it for you. It was fun." "Well, you're definitely the best at target shooting," Ryoga said. "Not even Mother or Ranma have won more than a hundred prizes from one booth." "I hate to tell you," began Nabiki with a teasing smile. "But I think we might have cleaned that poor guy out because of your need for having cute Anime collectibles." "Really? You think he'll be okay?" asked Ryoga who formed a concerned expression as he turned to glance back at the game owner that was now collapsed in a fit of tears. "He'll be fine," Nabiki dismissed as she studied Ryoga. She paused for a moment then came to a internal decision and gently hooked her arm in his. "Don't you worry about him, Ryoga-kun. He was trying to cheat people. That game he was running was only a few inches away from being rigged." Ryoga's face grew dark at this and turning around, Nabiki could barely make out the hint of anger floating in his dark brown eyes because the pile of plush and hugable prizes obstructed her ability to read her iinazuke's features. "It was rigged?" Ryoga asked in slow tones. "Well, I assume so," began Nabiki as she studied Ryoga with hesitant eyes. "Most game booths are." After a moment, Ryoga broke out into low pleasant laughter. Blinking at this, Nabiki asked, "What's so funny?" "That guy," said Ryoga through his laughter and Nabiki could barely make out his smile through the pile of prizes he held. "He must be really pissed at us now!" "Yeah, he must," Nabiki replied with a smile. Shaking her head, she hooked her arm in his again, and the two began a slow walk down the street when she paused at seeing a very familiar and now welcome site in front of them. "Nabs?" asked Ryoga as he peered up and over the pile of plush prizes. "What is it? Is something wrong?" Wearing a slow and easy smile, Nabiki pushed the toys down so Ryoga could see what she was looking at. On seeing the galactically known Karaoke Citadel, he broke out into a wide smile before he met Nabiki's smiling eyes. "What do you say, Ryoga-kun?" drawled Nabiki. "Want to go and bust out a few tunes before we leave?" Matching Nabiki's smile, Ryoga shifted the pile of toys that he was holding and said, "Definitely." And that's how the patrons of the galactically known Karaoke Citadel met the best pair of performers ever to grace the insides of their bar and stage. Oh, and how game owner Jukaro Katsuhito lost all of his entire stock of Anime collectibles in a single day. --- Staring at the katana that was millimeters away from her nose, Ranma looked up at Tatewaki and said, "What's got your undies in a bunch this time, Kuno?" "Saotome," growled Tatewaki. "How dare you spread inappropriate rumors about myself and Shampoo?! First you turn my sister into a thief and now this! I refuse to stand by and allow you to sully both of their reputations!" "Huh?" Ranma blinked. "Sully in what way?" Sniffing at this, Tatewaki narrowed his eyes before he said, "Enough talk, Saotome. Retrieve your weapon. I know that you have it with you. It's time to settle this." "I dunno what this is about," said Ranma slowly as her cobalt eyes sparkled with eager excitement. "But if you want a fight then you're gonna get a fight, Kuno." "Ranma dearest?" Kodachi asked in surprise. "Tachi?" Shampoo echoed her sentiments. Ranma turned to look at her girlfriend then said, "Don't worry, Dachi. We did this all the time in the old days. Nothing bad is gonna happen." "Indeed," Tatewaki said as he rested his solemn gaze on his sister. "This is the only manner in which Saotome and I are able to settle our differences. It's our chosen way." "You settle fights by dueling with swords?" Kodachi asked in disbelief. "Brother dear, that's hardly safe--" "It's our chosen way," enforced Tatewaki before he turned back to meet Ranma's gaze. "Draw your sword." "You got it," Ranma replied easily. Then in a languid movement, Ranma rose to her feet and produced a katana that equaled Tatewaki's in both beauty and craftsmanship. Ranma crouched slightly and rested her katana inches away from Tatewaki's. "Just like the old days, huh Kuno?" said Ranma as she formed a jaunty smirk. "Except that I've gotten a lot better." "You need not fear," said Tatewaki with a dangerous smile. "Because so have I." Returning the smile, Ranma said, "Then lets see." --- The customers of Madame Francine's Bistro that decided to sit outside on the terace found their peaceful lunch interrupted when two katana wielding combatants came out of nowhere to land on the same aforementioned terace. "C'mon, chicken boy," a blonde girl taunted as she blocked another blow from her opponent. "You can do better than that. You haven't even nicked me yet." "Saotome," growled the handsome boy she was fighting. "Don't you know that I'm going easy on you for Kodachi's sake? After all, killing you would upset her." "Nice line, Kuno," said the blonde with a smirk. "But I already know that I'm way too sexy to kill." Ignoring this comment, the boy rushed forward and his katana moved in a blinding series of combinations which the blonde fended off with her own katana. Evading his next attack, the blonde leapt onto one of the Bistro tables and looked at the couple sitting there. She paid close attention to the man who held an open velvet box in his hands that was presented to the woman that he sat with. "Cubic Zirconium?" said the blonde as she stared at the ring. "What sorta guy proposes with that?" Looking at the woman, the blonde smiled widely and rested her face inches away from the woman's as she drawled, "Someone as gorgeous as you deserves the real thing and not some cheap substitute." Before the woman had a chance to respond or even get angry about the fact that she'd been proposed to with a Cubic Zirconium ring, the boy shouted, "Saotome! How dare you flirt with another woman when my sister is in love with you!" That's when the boy sliced at the blonde who leapt away just as the boy's katana cut completely through the almost engaged couple's table. "Now you're wrecking private property," the blonde remarked. She was now standing on the edge of the terace as she said, "I say we get outta here before we get sued." With that, the blonde leapt off of the terace and went plummeting towards the ground below only swiftly bound off of a flagpole to launch herself higher into the air. Strangely enough, the blonde landed directly in the middle of the outside terace to Madame Francine's biggest competitor, Signora Maria's Cafe, whose customers looked just as shocked at the blonde's sudden appearance. Before they had time to adjust, the boy followed the blonde's exact path to land in front of her and they decided to continue with their duel in the middle of the Cafe. The pair were only there a few seconds before the blonde ended up flirting with yet another woman and the boy sliced through not a table but a good deal of entrees this time. Although they destroyed a good portion of tables, foods, and even a near engagement, the sword fighting duo seemed unaware of their actions as they continued on their duel throughout Nerima. The customers of Madame Francine's Bistro had just calmed their hearts and heads when two girls and a gnarled looking troll on a staff bounded through the terace to follow the same path as the sword fighting maniacs. Needless to say, all of these events were enough to make both the Bistro and the Cafe customers lose their appetites. Later on, it would be rumored that the combatants and troll woman had been hired by Madame Francine or Signora Maria as an attempt to ruin their rival's profitable lunch hour business. It was too bad for Madame Francine and Signora Maria that this simply wasn't the truth. Because nothing is harder for a smart business person than losing customers for reasons not of your own control. Then again, both of them did open shop in Nerima. And what smart business person does that? --- Chocolate was feeling proud of herself. Not only had she helped Shampoo with her romantic problems, she found the perfect way to avoid her fans whose numbers seemed to grow larger with each day. It all came together in one word: Disguises. Disguises were the only way Chocolate could find some peace and quiet while she conducted her secret mission to help Shampoo's every dream come true. So as she sat at a small table in front of a particularly trendy coffee shop, Chocolate wore a disguise. If you asked her she would say it was ingenious. But if you asked any of the people staring at her they would probably say it was ridiculous. Because if anything, Chocolate was drawing more attention to herself by wearing a huge black trench coat, black fedora hat, and a strange Groucho Marx mask. The mask was something few people could see as Chocolate was busy reading the Neriman Inquirer which had a large article about juvenile delinquents and chickens causing strange outbursts of violence when placed on peoples heads. She was almost done with the article when several familiar voices met her ears. Lowering the paper, Chocolate blinked as she saw Tatewaki dueling with one of the demon thieves. Watching them run down the street, Chocolate said in perplexed tones, "I wonder what that's about?" Before Chocolate could ponder this any further, she caught sight of Shampoo pursuing Tatewaki in the company of the other demon thief and her Great Grandmother. "Shampoo," whispered Chocolate. "She must be trying to help Tatewaki in his battle with the demon thief." It took Chocolate half a second to respond. Throwing off the huge trench coat she wore, Chocolate rose to her feet and declared, "Don't worry, Shampoo! I'll help Tatewaki defeat the demon thief!" Then with that, Chocolate took off down the street after Shampoo, Tatewaki, and the demon thieves looking like her usual drop dead gorgeous self now that her coat was gone. Well, if you didn't count the fact that she still had on the strange Groucho Marx mask for some reason. And to say that her sudden exit and spontaneous shedding of clothing shocked the other Java the Hut patrons would be a massive understatement. But to say that it was deadly would fit better because seconds later, it caused a mild stroke in one of the patrons. The patron lived, of course, but they never were much for going out for coffee after that day. A very understandable reaction at that. --- Beaming widely, Akane walked out of Dr. Akihito's office feeling like everything was right with the world. Now she had the perfect solution to her problem with Chocolate and the next time that she saw her Akane wouldn't worry about what to say or get nervous about her looks. She would be herself and not worry about anything else. Akihito even provided Akane with an extremely useful tip for keeping Chocolate from running away on her. Yes, everything was right with the world. "Akane?" Turning around, Akane smiled on seeing one of her fellow basketball players, Sugo Yumi, standing in front of her in the hallway in front of Akihito's office. "Yumi-chan," said Akane pleasantly. "What are you doing here? Do you have an appointment with the Doctor too?" "No, I was just running an errand for Coach," Yumi replied. She paused to blink then asked, "You had a meeting with the school shrink, Akane? How come?" "I have love problems," Akane said as she smiled. "They were making me pretty sad but the Doctor helped me. Well, I've got to get going. I'll see you later, Yumi-chan!" Watching as Akane dashed past her and down the hallway, Yumi wore a blank expression. After a moment she said dimly, "Akane-chan has love problems?" Her face turning dark, Yumi scowled before she bunched her hands into fists and said, "Whoever is making the Captain unhappy is going to pay! No one hurts Akane-chan!" With that, Yumi marched down the hallway to go in search of her fellow jocks who were all equally loyal to Akane. It goes without saying that this new development wasn't going to be something Chocolate favored. --- When Akane walked out of the main building to Furinkan High, she was met with the sight of two chopped down trees. She stared at this for a moment but soon found her attention drawn elsewhere when Ranma and Tatewaki went bounding past her fighting with swords. Just like before, Akane was just adjusting to this strange sight when Shampoo, Kodachi, and Cologne came out of nowhere then go chasing after the dueling pair. "Wow," Akane said after a moment. "I didn't know that Ranma and Tatewaki were on the fencing team." Akane was still contemplating this when suddenly the object of her affection and source of her love problems, went running past her to follow the same path as the others. "Chocolate," said Akane as her eyes went wide. It took Akane a good ten seconds to remember what Akihito had told her during their afternoon session. But when she finally did remember, Akane gained a look of determination and then went after Chocolate. Because it was just like the Doctor said. Playing sports is like being in love. It's always better to be on the offense. --- Ranma was getting bored. Granted, the fight with Tatewaki was fun but already a half an hour had passed and Ranma didn't like for her fights to drag on for too long. So looking around the park that they'd recently moved their duel into, Ranma searched for some way that she might overpower Tatewaki, who at the moment had a slight advantage thanks to his superior body strength. That was when Ranma saw the water fountain. Forming a slow and definitely mischievous smile, Ranma turned back to see Tatewaki bounding towards her and immediately put her plan into action. Moving on the defense, Ranma slowly backed up while she blocked each one of Tatewaki's attacks. And in this manner, Ranma ended up in front of the water fountain. When Tatewaki launched a particularly strong down ward blow with his katana, Ranma swiftly stepped off to one side and this caused Tatewaki to slice through the fountain. The reaction was immediate as Tatewaki got drenched with cold water to trigger his Jusenkyo curse. "Ha! I win, Kuno!" proclaimed Ranma before she launched into her usual impudent laughter. Tatewaki phoenix narrowed his eyes at this before he waddled forward to start pecking at Ranma's feet which were partially exposed because of the shoes that she wore. "Augh! Quit it, bird brain!" Ranma shouted as she hopped around Tatewaki phoenix who kept pecking at her. "Demon thief!" Shampoo shouted. She paused to pick up Tatewaki phoenix who puffed up in her arms and glared at Ranma as she said, "What you do was cheating tricky!" "Point being?" asked Ranma who kept a close eye on Tatewaki phoenix whose beady black eyes were lidded. "Shampoo point is that you no warrior for tricking Tachi like that!" said Shampoo indignantly. "Shampoo doubt you even be able to defeat battle if not for cheating." Looking mildly insulted at this, Ranma snorted and said, "Yeah, right. I could beat that--" Ranma was unable to finish her sentence because out of nowhere a cannonball appeared to hit her directly in the face. When the cannonball fell away, Ranma's face was dark red with a circular impression on it. Seeing the incident with the cannonball, Kodachi dashed towards the group and cried out anxiously, "Ranma darling!" Slowly looking towards her girlfriend, Ranma wore an unusually blank expression as she said numbly, "Ouch." Seconds later, Ranma collapsed forward into Kodachi's arms who looked up at Shampoo and asked, "Where did that cannonball come from?" "Not sure," Shampoo replied in puzzlement. She looked around the park while continuing to hold Tatewaki phoenix in her arms. "It just show up and hit him." "Shampoo," said Cologne carefully as she hopped towards the group and looked closely at the cannonball on the ground. "Doesn't this attack remind you of someone?" "Aiyaah," breathed Shampoo with wide eyes. "You thinking that Mousse is here, Great Grandmother?" "He's the only one I know to use such an attack," Cologne replied. "But what's his purpose in doing this?" "Maybe stupid Mousse no like demon thieves either?" Shampoo suggested. When Cologne gave her a dry look she looked sheepish and said, "What? How should I know?" Regaining consciousness, Ranma scowled but made no effort to get up from where she was resting comfortably in Kodachi's arms. "And who the heck is Mousse?" she asked. "Mousse is boy nearly as annoying as you," said Shampoo who sniffed when Ranma stuck out her tongue in way of a rebuttal. "He try get Shampoo to date with him for many years but she no want to. Before Shampoo left China she manage to get rid of him for good. At least, that's what Shampoo thought. Could be wrong." "If Mousse is indeed here in Japan it makes things more complicated," murmured Cologne who was scanning the park with a calculating gaze. The thing that troubled Cologne the most wasn't the fact that Mousse could be in Japan but more what Mousse would be doing in Japan. Why would he come here? And if he was here, what were his intentions? Somehow Cologne had a feeling that the answer to both of these questions was something entirely unexpected. --- Trees weren't a good place to hide. At least that's what Chocolate thought as yet another branch poked her in the butt. Grimacing a bit, Chocolate muttered, "Why can't I ever think of any good places to hide?" "Chocolate? What are you doing up there?" Trying to hide further in the branches of the tree, which were continuing to poke her in uncomfortable places, Chocolate cautiously looked at the ground only to feel an immense wave of relief pass over her on what she saw. It was Akane, the pretty girl from the hospital. The pretty girl whose touch had made Chocolate feel all tingly inside. Coloring at this thought, she shook her head and said lowly, "Stop it. There's no way she'd--" "Chocolate? You stuck or something?" Blinking at this, Chocolate smiled and said, "No. I'm not stuck, Akane. Hold on a second and I'll be right down." Peering through the branches, Chocolate saw that Shampoo and the others were making their way out of the park. Which meant that it was safe for her to get out of this damned uncomfortable hiding place. Jumping down on the ground, Chocolate landed gracefully in front of Akane who giggled on seeing her. "What?" Chocolate asked as she wore a puzzled expression on her pretty features. "What's so funny?" "The mask," replied Akane who gave a soft and charming smile as she took a step forward. In a gentle and fleeting movement, Akane reached out to take the odd Groucho Marx mask off of Chocolate's face. And on feeling Akane's feather light touch Chocolate blushed while she found herself returning Akane's smile. "There," Akane said. She had a satisfied expression and handed the mask to Chocolate. "You look much better without that silly thing on." Akane tilted her head to one side then asked, "Why were you wearing it anyway?" "I was trying to hide," Chocolate revealed sheepishly. "From those guys that I told you about." "Oh, well, I suppose that makes sense," mused Akane. "I never thought of doing anything like that." A silence passed over the girls when suddenly a low wind blew past them and caused their hair to go flying about which added to their mutually kawaii good looks. In that instant Akane found herself drawn to Chocolate and Chocolate found herself drawn to Akane. They both decided to do something about it. "Akane," began Chocolate. "Chocolate," began Akane. "Want to go somewhere?" they both asked. There was another moment of silence before both girls blinked as they heard the other one ask the exact same question that they did and at the exact same time. Moments later, they broke out into soft laughter which soon faded into somewhat nervous titters. "So," Akane said slowly. "Want to go somewhere?" "I don't know," Chocolate replied with an almost teasing smile. "Do you want to go somewhere?" "Yeah," said Akane with a smile. "I want to go somewhere." "Well then," Chocolate paused to return the smile. "How about we get going somewhere?" The girls then walked out of the park in silence before they turned to each other and asked, "Where do you want to go?" Again, they broke out into soft laughter before they decided to go and grab a snack at the local ice cream parlor. Throughout their day together Akane and Chocolate would find this happening to them again and again. It would seem that kawaii girls think alike. --- Digging through the large pile of treasures, Perfume muttered a long string of vulgarities in Mandarin. She was just launching into a particularly nasty curse when her sapphire eyes caught sight of her goal. "<I found it,>" Perfume said with wide eyes. Perfume then reached forward to hold a shining silver necklace that had a small tear shaped emerald hanging from it. She was still focused on the necklace when the gentle voice of Kasumi met her ears. "Perfume?" asked Kasumi as she neared the Enforcer. "Why are you speaking in Mandarin?" Turning to look at Kasumi with what could be described as shell shocked eyes, Perfume gave a wan smile then said, "Am sorry, Airen. Just lost myself, is all." Mulling over this, Kasumi found her eyes drawn towards the necklace that Perfume held in her hands. "How beautiful," she murmured. "Is it yours, Perfume?" "Yes," Perfume said quietly. Her eyes locked on the emerald tear drop and her fingers caressed it lightly. "It was made for me by my mother." "Was?" prompted Kasumi who was studying Perfume with attentive brown eyes. Lifting her head, Perfume gazed up at Kasumi with eyes that were misting over with tears. "Mother dead. She die in childbirth having me. I never knew her." "I'm sorry," Kasumi said in soft emotion filled tones as she tenderly held Perfume's hands in her own. "I couldn't imagine not knowing my mother." "For so long," Perfume whispered in numb tones while she continued to stare at the necklace. "This one thing that I have which could tell me about my mother. She was a Mage. Very powerful and she make this with her powers for a present to me before I was born. But she never got the chance to give it to me. Now this all I have of her. I was afraid of losing it so I put in cabin and demon thieves stole." Still gazing at the necklace, Perfume said, "I feel alone for long time. Not having any family in the village because Grandmother was traveling. She not come home until I was almost ten. But in meantime Great Grandmother took me in and I train with Shampoo. They become like family to me and I was happy. But still I..." "Missed your mother," finished Kasumi quietly. "Yes," Perfume said as she looked up and into Kasumi's eyes that held a silent understanding. "Perfume," murmured Kasumi. She gently pried open the Enforcer's clenched hand and removed the necklace from her grip. Kasumi unlatched it then quietly placed it around Perfume's neck. Pulling away, Kasumi formed a soft and pleasant smile as she pushed Perfume's hair back into place. "I know that your mother is proud of you, Perfume," she murmured. "Just like I know that my mother is proud of me." "Airen," whispered Perfume in shaky tones. "You're a good person," Kasumi continued. She cupped Perfume's cheek and said, "And your mother would want you to wear this. She would also want you to feel happy about life and not sad about her death. Everything happens for a reason. I truly do believe that." Smiling softly, Perfume's eyes grew warm as she said, "You're right, Airen. I meet you for a reason. I never feel so happy when with you. Is fate, am sure of it." "Fate is a nice thing, isn't it?" Kasumi replied in quietly teasing tones as she returned the smile. Searching Kasumi's gentle brown eyes, Perfume nodded silently before she came to an internal decision. The couple's second kiss wasn't quite as passionate as their first but somehow to Perfume it felt more fulfilling. Maybe it was because this time when they parted Kasumi's first instinct wasn't to run away but to pull Perfume into a close embrace. This, of course, made Perfume's day. --- Akane was feeling happy. Not her normal, every day happy, but a new sort of blissful happy that she hadn't felt in a very long time. She had spent close to three hours with Chocolate and in those three hours Akane had never felt happier. And when they were together there was this odd sense of belonging. As she sat next to the other girl on the high wall that looked over the river, Akane smiled. "This has been fun," said Akane. "Yes, lots," Chocolate replied, her pretty features alight in a smile. "Well," she paused to push a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Except for those guys chasing us." "At least we got rid of them," Akane replied. "But where did you get all of those cannonballs from?" "Trade secret," said Chocolate in solemn tones. "Awww," Akane formed a crushed expression and hung onto Chocolate's arm. "C'mon, tell me! Pleaaaase?" "Well," Chocolate drew the word out as she wore a teasing expression. "Maybe if you're really nice I'll tell you." Sniffing at this, Akane formed a slight pout and folded her arms across her chest. "But I'm always nice," she said as she jutted her lip out slightly. As she did this, Chocolate couldn't help but notice just how pretty Akane really was. And the other girl's kindly attitude didn't escape her either. No one had ever been this nice to Chocolate. It was a situation she wasn't entirely used to but desperately wanted to continue. It was true that she had come here to help Shampoo be happy but that didn't mean that she couldn't have some happiness of her own, did it? For once Chocolate liked someone and they liked her back. And this time it wasn't how it was with Shampoo. It was different. This time it was right and good. Looking at Akane who was still wearing a kawaii pout on her features, Chocolate murmured, "You're very nice. In fact, you're the nicest girl that I've ever met." "Really?" asked Akane as she slowly turned to look at Chocolate. "Do you really mean that?" "Yes," Chocolate smiled. "I do. I like you a lot, Akane." Akane blushed lightly before she whispered, "I like you a lot too, Chocolate." There was a moment of long silence before Akane moved forward to rest her face inches away from Chocolate's. Her teal eyes going wide, Chocolate looked at Akane with mixed longing and surprise before she closed her eyes in anticipation of what would happen next. And that was when she heard a loud snap and felt a cold feeling surround her wrist. When she opened her eyes, Chocolate wasn't met with the kiss that she had been expecting but rather the sight of her wrist now handcuffed to Akane's. "What...?" Chocolate said in shocked puzzlement. "So you can't run away," Akane answered the unspoken question. She paused to smile quite sensuously and moving forward, she murmured, "Want to kiss now?" Directing her wide and stunned eyes to look at Akane's beautiful features which were once again only inches away from her own, Chocolate could only say one thing. "What?" To be continued... ------------------------------------------------- I'd like to thank Jim Robert Bader, Red Death, and my brother Patrick for listening to my goofy ideas. Also special thanks to Wade Tritschler for allowing me to be a part of his Altered Destinies project. Author's note: Yep, I'm titling my chapters now. I don't know why. It just seemed like a fun idea. Chat with me on ICQ! My ICQ # is: 37674780 Thanks to Red Death all of my fanfics are archived at: http://www.lvdi.net/~reddeath/dreiser.htm Next up: Akane and Chocolate are handcuffed together. Is there really anything else to say? Bwahahaha. "Somebody once said that no other priestess of fire who came before me could impassion the element of flame hotter than I could. But I didn't like the way he said it, so I fried him." -Shayla Shayla; El Hazard: The Wanderers-
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