Standard Disclaimer: Outlaw Star does not belong to me. It probably doesn't belong to you either, but just in case it does, a) don't sue me, and b) exactly how much would it cost to buy just Harry?

Mkay, people. I'm one of the few people in the world that thinks Aisha Clan-clan actually has a brain underneath all that hair. I always thought she was being strange at the Grave of the Dragon-- but at the end she was all good again. Here's my take on at least some of what might have happened, explained kind of from Suzuka's point of view.

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She'd known about it for a while, but this was the first time that Gene admitted having feelings for Melfina.

"I agree with Jim. You have been acting differently around Melfina lately, Gene," Suzuka said, and Gene frowned.

"It's not that I mean to be," he explained. Suzuka was rather surprised that he was confiding in her, and somewhat pleased. She beat that feeling down quickly. "It's just that-- I promised her something, and now I'm afraid I won't be able to keep that promise." Suzuka kept the calm, cool look on her face, but on the inside her stomach clenched a bit.

Both of them were startled when Aisha, who had been sleeping on the floor a few feet away, jumped up. She staggered a bit on her feet without looking at either of them and started to walk away.

"What's the matter, Aisha?" Suzuka called out to her.

"Gotta go to the bathroom," she grunted back, and disappeared from sight.

Gene snorted at the blunt reply. Only Aisha. Looking at him, two thoughts went through Suzuka's head simultaneously. One was that Gene obviously didn't think much of women that gave crude answers like that. The other was that Aisha was a lot more perceptive than she let on. As Gene continued to speak, the beautiful assassin wondered exactly why it was that Aisha had passed up a great chance to eavesdrop. She decided to ask her about it later.

Suzuka finally found Aisha perched on top of one of the dragon temples a small distance apart from the main complex. She hauled herself up onto the stone structure and approached the cat-girl from behind. Aisha gave no indication that she heard any of it, though she must have. The assassin had made plenty of noise to let Aisha know she had a visitor.

"What exactly did you have for breakfast, Aisha?" Suzuka asked from behind the Ctarl-Ctarl. Aisha, sitting with her knees pulled to her chin, turned to look up at her with a far-away expression on her face. "What?"

"You've been using the bathroom for a good thirty minutes. Whatever you had, I don't want to make the mistake of eating it myself."

Aisha turned her eyes back to the horizon. "Oh... yeah, okay."

Suzuka frowned. She's not going to make this easy, is she? So help me, if I ruin this kimono I'm making her pay for it. Suzuka carefully knelt down Japanese-style beside the Ctarl and adjusted her kimono. She placed her hands primly in her lap as Aisha watched her with puzzlement.

"Want to tell me what that was all about, back there?" Suzuka asked nonchalantly.

Aisha stretched her arms into the air and yawned, seeming to have finally returned to reality. "What was what about?" The assassin gave her a look. "Hey, I may be an immortal Ctarl-ctarl, but that doesn't mean I don't have to take care of business every once in a while. We're people too!" Aisha said defensively.

"The dumb act doesn't work with me," Suzuka responded, pulling a clean handkerchief from the folds of her elaborate garments.

"Meow?"

The older woman unsheathed her wooden bokken and busied herself polishing it. "It may work on the others, but I know better. It seems I'm the only one that remembers that you graduated with honors from a prestigious Ctarl university. So don't even try it."

"Nani?! How did you know about that?" Aisha screeched, but not half as loud as usual. She didn't want to draw too much attention to the two of them out there in the open.

"I have connections," Suzuka said calmly, rubbing at a stubborn spot on the middle of the bokken. "You don't really think I'd go waltzing off into space with a bunch of people I knew nothing about? I did a thorough background check on all of you."

"Suzu!" Aisha threw herself on the assassin's arm, almost causing her to drop her sword. "Promise me you'll keep it to yourself!" She gazed up at Suzuka with huge watery puppy-dog eyes.

Annoyed, Suzuka shook the other girl off. "Fine, though I don't see why I should. It's an honor, Aisha. That's why it's called graduating 'with honors'. It means you're gifted, and that's something you should be proud of." She shook her head. "It's not like anyone would notice anyway. Melfina's got herself to worry about, and Jim's too busy taking care of the ship. As for Gene, he's just too stupid to see."

"He's not stupid!" Aisha said hotly, glowering suddenly at Suzuka. "He just has other things on his mind right now." Her voice suddenly got soft at the end of the sentence.

Suzuka stopped polishing. "Yes, we females can always see it before the boys can, can't we? Gene doesn't even realize it yet, but it's dawning on him slowly."

"Do you think it's too late to change his mind?" the Ctarl asked in a small voice. Suzuka glanced over at Aisha to see that her ears were drooping slightly. She decided to ignore the question.

"Why did you leave, back there?" Suzuka asked. "You missed an interesting conversation."

"I didn't want to hear it," Aisha muttered, crossing her arms. "I already knew what that Terran was gonna say." She paused, and slid her eyes over to the assassin. "How long have you known?"

Suzuka resumed polishing. "About his feelings for Melfina, or your feelings for him?"

The Ctarl-ctarl glowered at her. "Both."

"Quite a while, actually. Gene is rather transparent. But then again, most men are." Suzuka inspected the tsuba of her bokken and stopped talking.

"And what about me?" Aisha finally exploded, unable to take the silence any longer.

Suzuka didn't even bother to glance up. "What about you, Aisha? There's nothing you can do about it. And really, would you want to?" The Ctarl girl didn't answer. "Use your brain, Aisha, I know you can. Melfina's sweet and naive, and for reasons beyond me, Gene seems to be the only person in this world who doesn't want to take advantage of that. Strange as it is, it makes sense. When Gene finally manages to admit it, they'll be happy together."

"I--but--," the Ctarl stammered, then shook her head and stopped. The air was hot and dry on the barren planet, and now it hung heavy over the two women. Aisha's face wore a rarely seen somber expression.

Sighing, Suzuka finally spoke. "As I said, there's nothing you can do about it. Besides, I don't think you want to create a lot of drama, not when we're so close to the Leyline."

"I guess not," Aisha grumbled, sliding her eyes away.

Suzuka continued, "I believe your only course of action is to learn how to deal with it."

"Rrowrr," Aisha growled to herself in frustration. "How do you deal with it, Suzu?"

The assassin froze. "I don't know what you're--" she stopped mid-denial. It seemed she still hadn't given Aisha quite enough credit. The younger woman knew. Suzuka always thought that she'd done a superb job of hiding her own idiotic crush on the outlaw. But Aisha was looking at her with a mixture of curiosity and smugness. From now on, Suzuka thought to herself, I'll have to constantly remind myself that behind all that goofiness, there's a brain. A highly observant brain.

"Meditation," she conceded finally. "Lots and lots of meditation." After a moment she added quietly, "And tea."

The Ctarl didn't reply for a moment. Suzuka looked over at her with an eyebrow raised. Aisha had her head down now, white-blond bangs hanging in front of her face. Slowly, her shoulders begin to shake.

Oh damn, Suzuka cursed silently. Is she crying?

But a snort suddenly escaped from underneath the wild bangs. Then Aisha threw her head back and howled with laughter. "Meditation! I get it now! I knew there was something funny going on! That's why you always have a cup of 'tea' before you go off in your room to 'meditate'!" Aisha was laughing so hard she could hardly breathe. "You get drunk and pass out! Ha!" She threw her self onto her back and kicked her feet into the air, clutching her belly.

Suzuka sniffed and turned her nose up at the cat-girl rolling on the ground beside her. Yes. Highly observant. "You keep my little secret, and I'll keep yours," she said loftily.

"Whatever you say, Suzu," Aisha grinned up at her wickedly.

Suzuka glanced down at her now immaculate bokken. It was polished to such a high shine that she could see the reflection of her own dark eyes in it, sparkling with amusement. Just this once, she let Aisha get away with calling her Suzu.

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Short and sweet! Read and review, tell me what you think. Also, if anyone has read my other Outlaw Star story and are waiting for another chapter, (the three people who reviewed it anyway) I'm working on it! School's barely leaving me enough time to eat, much less to write. I still need feedback on what to do with it! Help!