Yay! My first uploaded fic in nearly a year.


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The Anniversary

"Jeez, what's the big deal?" Jet stared at his two older team mates with a sour look on his face.

"Don't you get it?" Gallows looked incredulous, "You hurt her feelings!" the Baskar tribesman exclaimed. He looked over at the green haired man beside him for support.

"Tomorrow is an important day for all of us, Virginia especially." Clive explained, looking sternly at the white haired drifter. He was well aware that Jet had difficulties understanding these things but surely he had some inkling of what he had done.

"Well how the hell was I supposed to know it was such a big deal?" the white haired boy questioned.

Gallows sighed and shook his head, only Jet… "It's freakin' common sense, you idiot."

"Come on! All I said was that I didn't want to celebrate no stupid anniversary."

Clive arched an eyebrow, "…Strange. I also recall a part where you claimed you'd rather spend the day mourning the time you wasted with us..."

"That…" Jet paused, had he really said that? "That was, uh, simply an exaggeration to illustrate my point"

"…And?" Gallows wondered, "That being?" Both men looked at him. Jet felt uneasy under their reprimanding stares.

"Uh…" he began, "I don't like celebrations?"

"Argh! That was your reason?" the Baskar exclaimed in frustration, "I never thought you could be so selfish."

"Really?" that had Jet curious.

Gallows thought for a moment then scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "…Ok, I forgot who I was talking about" he muttered. "But that's nothing to be proud of!"

"Anyway, that is of little importance now." Clive interjected, "The bottom line is: you owe Virginia an apology."

Their leader had stormed off after the heated argument that had erupted as a result of Jet's thoughtless complaints, leaving Clive and Gallows to scold the boy.

The young drifter looked defiant at first but finally thought the better of it. As much as he hated to relent in any situation he really saw no other end to this quarrel.

"…Jeez, fine. I'll go talk to her." he sighed, then muttered an additional: "…later."

"The anniversary's tomorrow, Jet." Gallows reminded him, "You'd better do it before then!"

Jet scowled, "Yeah, yeah…"

When he was finally left to himself the white haired youth muttered a string of curse words below his breath and kicked a cloud of dust off the ground in frustration.

How the hell should I have known it was so freakin' important? he closed his eyes and inhaled a deep breath of air in an effort to calm down, No one ever told me. Why do girls always have to be so complicated? If she'd just explained it to me, like Gallows and Clive did, maybe I would've apologized right then and saved us all some time……maybe.

Jet sighed wearily. His head was suddenly pounding with a vicious headache.

…Ok, so I'm not great with apologies… and maybe I shouldn't blame Virginia for my own deficiency. Dammit! If I'd just kept my mouth shut in the first place I wouldn't be in this mess.

The young drifter began walking aimlessly around town so as to postpone the inevitable confrontation with a certain brunette.

Unless I make up some kind of plan I'll probably screw up, he figured. Hell, I'd probably end up making things worse!

As bad as it may have sounded it was most probably true. He appeared to have knack for pissing people off through verbal provocation. Intentionally and unintentionally.

So maybe I can make things easier somehow? I'm no good with words……so…maybe… I should give her something!

Jet stopped in his tracks, an exhilarated look came upon his face at this most brilliant idea. The moment didn't last particularly long however.

…but what? Of course that was the catch. The reason he was in this whole mess was his complete utter lack of any kind of social abilities and manners whatsoever. How could an emotional cripple such as himself possibly think of a suitable gift?

What manner of thing would be suitable in this situation? In any situation? What sort of things do girls like? What sort of thing says: 'I'm sorry I ridiculed our one year anniversary as a team and went as far as to call our time together a waste'?

He had no idea. Gella? Probably not. He had a vague memory of hearing somewhere that money made a poor gift. He had never understood why. Ammunition? No… as practical as it might be it was probably wrong. In fact, given his complete inexperience of the matter anything he could think of would probably be the exact opposite of what to really get.

What would be the opposite of money and ammunition…?

As luck would have it he didn't have to think too long until his eyes came upon a possible answer. By chance he had caught sight of a flower growing on the dusty ground.

Of course! Jet may have been utterly clueless when it came to these things, but even he had somehow picked up that flowers made great gifts for women.

He reached down to pluck it but stopped half way. Wild flowers were still a rarity in the wasteland. The fact this one had survived long enough to bloom was nothing short of a miracle.

…Maybe I won't pick this one…

He retracted his hand. The only places where flowers thrived in any greater quantity were around the Yggdrasil and at Secret Garden.

Not only was Yggdrasil too far away but he also had personal reasons not wanting to return there. To Secret Garden, on the other hand, there was a good chance he could make the trip and be back again before nightfall.

With newfound resolve Jet made his way toward the stables where his horse rested. Beside the flowers, the trip would also give him some time to plan ahead what he would say when faced with the most probably enraged Virginia.

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xxxxx

Unbeknownst to Jet however Virginia, who had shut herself inside her room at the inn, had already passed the anger-phase. From there she had proceeded to cry a little despite a strong resolve not to. Then she had spent some time silently cursing him while drying her tears but eventually she had grown tired of even that.

What she was left with was a sad, tiring feeling of disappointment. First and foremost she was disappointed at Jet for acting so cold and inconsiderate but in the end she couldn't help but also feel disappointed at herself for letting it affect her so.

After all, this was hardly the first time Jet Enduro had been acting like an insensitive, thoughtless bastard. She should know better than to let it bother her so much. In the end he usually made for it somehow by saving her from some trap, protecting her in battle or something in the lines of that.

But still, this time he had really hurt her. She had been so excited with their one year anniversary coming up. She had wanted to celebrate the first time they all met, the first time she met him.

Needless to say she was a lot less eager now after the preceding conversation.

And besides, just once it would be nice with a verbal apology…

Laying down with her back on the bed, Virginia stared at the ceiling. Instantly she found her thoughts yet again drawn to the white haired drifter that never seemed to be too far from her mind these days. Was he feeling any regret, she wondered?

There had been times in the past when she had doubted his ability to actually feel at all. But also countless times when she had been ashamed of herself for ever having considered such a thing. Jet had feelings, she knew this of course, but after a year together he still rarely let it show. He also had a great sense of pride which, she assumed, was the reason why apologising was so incredibly hard for him.

Virginia slowly allowed her eyelids to drop.

You'd better apologise this time, mister…

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xxxxx

-

Like they had done many times in the past Jet dared the leap over the crevasse en route to Secret Garden. It had been an uneventful and speedy journey so far. Now, safe on the other side, he didn't have to ride long until he spotted the tiny cabin by the edge of the forest.

Pulling at the reigns he caused his horse to slow down as he approached the small meadow encircled by trees where Florina, the little flower girl, had chosen to establish her garden. Leaping down from the saddle he finally led the horse the rest of the way.

She had watched the person as he approached. Now she could see it was Jet but for some reason he seemed to be alone. It was the first time he had ever visited her alone. What could it mean? Florina blushed as certain thoughts entered her young mind. She liked Jet. The boy had a gruff and somewhat cold attitude but she somehow knew that, deep down, he was really a good person. There was something familiar about him too, something she couldn't quite put her finger on. She had felt this the first time she met him, then together with Virginia and his other friends.

But now he was walking toward her home all by himself. Had something happened to the others? The little girl felt a twinge of worry …or did he simply wish to see her alone…? Florina shook her head violently to rid herself of such ridiculous thoughts.

He's probably been sent to get some Potion Berries, she told herself.

"Hi" said Jet as he approached her. It felt somewhat strange to actually initiate a conversation for once.

"Hi" the little girl replied in a small, timid voice.

"I, uh…" Jet paused, he was just about to utter a sentence he never would have expected to hear himself say, "…I need some flowers." he looked down at his feet in an attempt to cover his embarrassment. In the back of his head a voice frighteningly similar to Virginia's reprimanded him. 'That's not how you ask for something', it said. "…please." Jet added tentatively, looking up at the diminutive girl.

"Flowers?" Florina looked puzzled. It was a pretty reasonable request given the fact that she owned what was probably the largest garden in all of Filgaia, yet it was nothing she had expected to hear from him.

"Yeah. I sort of pissed someone off and now I need to apologise…" Jet explained sheepishly, momentarily swallowing his pride. Perhaps there was some special flower reserved for apologies, he told himself. Then she would have to know the cause so she could help him pick it out.

"Ok" the flower girl nodded slowly. It seemed like a fairly reasonable situation. Except the fact that Jet was actually going to beg for forgiveness. And with flowers at that. Then again, perhaps she didn't know him well enough to pass such judgement. After all she only met him when the gang came by to pick up healing vegetables. "I can help you with that" she agreed.

Jet looked somewhat relieved, "…Thanks" he muttered awkwardly.

Leading the way over to the flowerbed Florina couldn't keep herself from speaking on the subject of flowers. She didn't have guests every day after all.

"Traditionally there are different flowers suitable for different situations. Red flowers, especially roses as you're probably aware, are common when expressing fonder feelings, most often love, for someone."

Jet was not aware.

The little girl continued. "Yellow roses on the other hand generally represent friendship, so I suppose they would also work as a suitable peace offering to accompany an apology" talking to Jet about flowers, by far her favourite subject, made her immensely happy and helped her forget her shyness. "Is it for…a girl?" she enquired. Flowers almost always were but she felt the need to make sure none the less.

"Uh, yeah" Jet replied. He pictured himself giving flowers while apologising to Clive, then Gallows, and shuddered. That would simply just never happen, no matter what the situation. Why would she think I'd give flowers to a guy?

"I see. Well, as a peace offering I wouldn't say there are any specific kinds of flowers that are required…"

"But no red roses, right?" Jet had actually been paying attention for once and he was pretty sure he didn't want to send those kinds of signals to Virginia.

"Well, unless this person is your lover…" the little girl could help but blush for some reason.

"Well she isn't" the drifter replied quickly.

"Ok" Florina was pretty sure it was Virginia they were talking about and she had to admit she was kind of relieved to hear him say that. Even though his quick denial had her somewhat suspicious. "Anyway, since we won't bother with any special traditional boundaries, I'd suggest a nice mixed bouquet."

Given his very much limited knowledge in the field of flowers Jet could think no objections.

"Sounds… good." the white haired boy scratched the back of his head, for the first time wondering what he was really doing.

-

xxxxx

-

A knock on the door woke her up from her sleep. What had she been doing sleeping in the middle of the day anyway?

Another knock. Could it be Jet was finally ready to make an apology? If so, maybe she should let him wait for a while longer?

A familiar voice called from outside, "Virginia?"

It was Clive.

Letting herself out of bed Virginia made her way over to unlock the door. She was met with the worried faces of her two older friends.

"Did Jet happen to pass by here?" Clive wondered carefully. The way he said it quickly had her suspecting something was wrong.

"No…" why did she get the feeling that the reason for their worried expressions wasn't just concern over her?

"I see…" said Clive and shot Gallows a strange look. Gallows returned it.

"Is something wrong?" the girl finally wondered. She didn't for a second doubt there was.

"That punk was supposed to have come here to apologise..." the Baskar tribesman began explaining the situation.

"Now his horse appears to be missing from the stables… along with the 'punk' himself" the bespectacled sniper finished.

"H-He's gone?" Virginia exclaimed.

"It would appear so" confirmed Clive.

She didn't quite know what to think. Jet had… disappeared? Had he finally made reality of his many threats to leave the group? Why now? Was it because of the anniversary? Maybe being reminded that he had actually stayed with them for a whole year had finally pushed him over the edge? Or was it because of their quarrel? But he'd been the one to hurt her feelings not the other way around.

"It's strange, though." Gallows mused, "He said he'd go apologise. I mean you can say a lot of things about Jet but he's not a liar. Most of the time he's more like painfully honest."

Clive nodded. Gallows made a good point. It was true they could not yet rule out the idea that something else had caused his disappearance. But what could that possibly be? Jolly Roger wasn't known for any greater criminal activity and it was hardly the gathering point of outlaws such as say Little Twister was. The idea that he had been kidnapped or something along the lines of that, in broad daylight seemed pretty farfetched.

He looked at their leader to see how she was coping with the situation. Despite their occasional fights it was pretty common knowledge that Virginia was quite fond of the quiet young gunman. Still, with their last argument still fresh in mind, what would she decide?

"Well, what are we waiting for?" when she finally spoke again she seemed to have returned to her usual cheerful self, "Let's go after him!"

The two men stood silent for a moment, baffled by her sudden change.

"...Weren't you just mad at him?" Gallows finally couldn't help but wonder, suddenly seeing her in such high spirits. He had probably thought something along the same lines as Clive.

"Of course I'm mad," the drifter girl confirmed, "but it wouldn't be a real anniversary without him now would it?"

"I suppose not…" admitted Clive.

"We're going to find him, drag him back here and if he knows what's best for him he'd better celebrate with the rest of us tomorrow" Virginia explained slowly with a terrifying, humourless grin spreading across her face.

"Ok…" Gallows instinctively took a step back, what he had mistaken for cheerfulness seemed in fact to be bloodlust. Virginia could really be scary sometimes. The Baskar was surprised to find himself actually pitying Jet, thinking of the hell that awaited him if they caught up to him. But then again, had the punk really tried to run he'd pretty much brought it upon himself.

"Well, I'm all for it," Clive began, "but the problem is we don't know where he's headed"

"Has anyone seen him in town?"

"We haven't really asked around yet" replied Gallows.

"…I suppose there aren't that many places he could have gone from here" spoke Clive again now that he had given it some more thought, "If we head out for Midland Station we ought to be able to pick up his tracks somewhere along the way. Unless of course he has taken some actions to conceal his path…"

"Well, let's get going then!" their leader exclaimed enthusiastically, but there was no mirth behind the grim grin still covering her face. She would hunt him down. And he would pay.

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I'm worried that I won't finish this if I try to make it too long so I'll probably end up wrapping it up in the next chapter already.