Author's Notes: I have noticed a little something about myself when it comes to writing fan fictions. I tend to get into a sort of mode, or a phase, or mood…basically, I get into a series (anime mainly but video games as well), & before long I get a story idea in my head & decide, "Hey, I should write a fan fiction about it!..." And before long after that, I'll do it all over again.

For those of you who know what I'm talking about, & have been waiting a year & forever for the following titles: Digitopia, The Moon Princess & the Ravenette Warrior, & Street Fighter X Tekken: The Gang Wars (the later taken off in order to edit it more.), I am still working on those fan fictions & plan on positing their intros & first chapters at some point. I have been fortunate enough to get a brand new laptop from my wonderful mother as an early Christmas present, I so have to thank her & get her something extra good this year! And when it comes I will be able to work on my stories more often instead of having using one of their work computers to do it. I can't wait for its arrival!

Don't worry, the other fan fictions are still in the works. I just had to get this new one off my chest & posted. At least this one will be another one of my one shots, & it will lead to yet another great story (already in the workings…)

Update: January 24, 2014: I have discovered an unfortunate truth about my laptop...it needs a usb disc drive so that I can use Microsoft Word. I am using Google Docs right now, but I prefer to use Word whenever I can. On top of that, I was busy making Youtube videos until my PS Vita screen decided to crack on the inside & spill some kind of yellowish stuff on my screen, & then to burn the images of all of the games I played & videos I watched...To top it all off, I am back in school now so that will take priority over fan fiction writing at times. Other than that I should still be able to spend some of that time working on my fan fictions.

A Pendant in the Ruins?

"…Wow, you're pretty, but not as pretty as me…"

"Did I really just say that to another girl?" Coltia thought aloud as she nervously paced around on the cave rock floor of her bedroom. "Of course I did! But I didn't just tell any girl that, I told the wielder of the magic stone that!" Colt's heart was racing fast & pounding hard, her hands were shaking & her palms were sweating. "She probably thought you were some kind of creep or freak or something…"

Coltia knew, when she was of age for romantic relationships, that she was different. It didn't help that her "adoptive" family was made up of monsters – Baddies to be exact. As far as human interaction went, Colt had hardly had any. Being raised by Baddie monsters for much of her life, the only thing Colt really did "with" other humans was the petty theft jobs that her high ranked Baddie family members gave her. Along with a few good scraps & a little pit pocketing on her own time.

When it came to looking for love, Coltia wasn't sure if she wanted to find herself a boyfriend or not at first, let alone how to find one. Not really knowing much about either gender (with the exception of the obvious for girls around her age), let alone too much about her own human kin, she had to rely on watching & studying human couples in the cities, towns, & villages she & a few of her Baddie monster family members would travel in. Whenever she did see couples, both young & old, dating & married, she was both envious & confused. For the most part, she understood that nearly all of the pairings of people were happy with each other, say for the few that were breaking up, or finding out that their so-called soul mate was calling someone else that…Either way, Colt found herself longing for a human companion.

As Colt continued to watch couples she began to notice a few that weren't like the traditional ones. Most of the couples Colt had watched were that of one male partner & one female partner. But over time, she would find a few couples in which both of the partners were either male or female. And Colt found herself most fond of the female parings. And it was, in part because her fondness in such couples, that she felt the need to find herself another female partner. She felt it would be easier for her to be with someone who was just like her. Of the same gender. Of the same sex…

As Colt continued to nervously pace in her room, Holly & her family were settling themselves in their village home for the night. Holly entered her room & decided to lie on her bed for a while. She took a deep breath as she thought about day's events in the ancient ruins, particularly focusing on the young girl she & her family had just met.

"Another girl just told me that I was pretty." Holly smiled as she blushed a bit at the thought. "It was kind of funny, how I was so caught off guard." She laughed to herself. "I was honestly pleasantly surprised by it, at least until she said she was prettier than me, with that almost smug smile of hers on her face…" Holly briefly frowned.

Normally Holly wouldn't think too much about someone complimenting her beauty, especially since so many young village boys & men did so often. But there was something about the whole idea that another girl would compliment her beauty that just stuck with her. For much of her life Holly thought of herself as a very plain & average girl. And it always surprised her that many a teen boy & young man would indeed compliment her beauty. But earlier that day was the very first time that a girl had done that to Holly.

"But then again," she thought aloud as she sat up & looked out her bedroom window at the star-filled sky, "I did kind of find her pretty gorgeous!" Holly let out a little giggle & blushed. The very thought of Colt possibly being the one, her girlfriend, it was both exciting & a bit scary for the wielder of the magic stone.

Holly knew, long before the day she was of age for romantic relationships, that she was different. She knew that she didn't want a boyfriend at all, & that she had longed to have a romantic relationship with another girl. It was something that almost came naturally to her, even though she hadn't given any clues to such feelings to anyone who was close to her. Even with the many teen boys & young men who would try to date her, & the very few who were brave enough to try to court her, Holly would only politely refuse them. On top of that, her all-male family – her little brother, Genki, & all of her monster family – was very protective of her, especially her "uncle" Suezo & "uncle" Tiger. Nearly every teen boy & young man who even thought about dating or courting her would be scared off, or at the very least would be left with some kind of warning if they thought that they could try anything with her. This was something that Holly greatly appreciated; but even then she decided to keep her sexual identity a secret from her family & few village friends until she was ready to share it with them.

Holly continued to think about the teen girl iron bird pilot who complimented her. She believed that they could make a good couple, however,

"We hardly know each other. I hardly know her, as she hardly knows me." she worried. "But something tells me that we should get reacquainted."

"Holly. That is her name, & it sounds pretty, really pretty." Colt thought aloud, blushing slightly as she did. She then stopped her pacing & sat on the edge of her bed.

"I wonder what her last name is." She then took a moment to laugh at the thought of telling Holly her last name. "I'll bet she'd get a kick out of my last name – Sunrei. Like I'm just some big ball of sunshine of something...I'll bet her last name sounds much prettier." Colt blushed as she lay back on her bed.

She imagined herself spending a moment alone with girl she had just met. The one who she told, & without a hint of shyness, "…you're pretty…" Colt could see the smile that Holly had on her face as she introduced herself after the rest of her family. She then opened her eyes to see the cave ceiling in her room.

"Holly," she sighed as she closed her eyes again.

"Her name is Colt. I wonder if that is short for something else." Holly thought aloud. "But the only full name that I can think of is Colten. But that's a guy's name!" Holly quietly laughed to herself.

"I wonder what her last name is. I almost dare not share mine with her, whether we be friends or something much more. Mercris…"

It was a last name that had a bit of a bad history to it. Ever since the day that she & Genki's mother had died, things were never the same with their father. He would become more withdrawn, more neglecting, & more abusive to both his family & himself. Not to mention he was becoming a drunkard who would neglect his duties as the leader of Toriyama. He would make an attempt to get back into the swing of things, even running for re-election as the village leader. But he would lose to someone else & be forced by the village elder to leave Toriyama for good. Yosho Mercris would be seen as a terrible power hungry person to the many former fellow villagers he had left behind. He would also leave a very young & very sad daughter, & an even younger & bitterly angry son behind. And unfortunately for Holly & Genki Mercris, some of that distain would be placed upon them as well for being related to Yosho. They also had it a bit rough since they would become the first & only known human children in Toriyama to be raised by an all monster family.

Holly closed her eyes & took a deep breath, slowly exhaling it. She then sat up & stretched with a slow yawn before standing up & walking to her window to star gaze. As she did, Holly couldn't help but to wonder,

"If Colt was looking at the stars with me, what would she be thinking? What other kind of 'wow' & 'you're pretty' comments would she come up with? She may even make a 'you're beautiful' or a 'you're gorgeous' comment."

Holly laughed to herself. She closed her eyes & blushed as she imagined herself spending time with Coltia lying on a hill with cool green grass & looking at the stars together.

"I wonder if she even likes to star gaze. She seemed more focused on her dream of becoming an archaeologist when we talked with her. She may star gaze every night she can. Because from what I can remember when I read up on archeologists, they have to travel a lot. If she does become a professional archaeologist, in the near future, she may not even have enough time to star gaze, let alone, for a relationship. Or for a girlfriend for that matter, if she would even want one…" Holly closed her eyes & took another deep breath, sighing before she continued her star gazing.

"I guess it will take Colt quite a while to make her dream come true." Holly then smiled. "And if that's the case, then she should definitely have some time on her hands to star gaze. That is, if she does. But where did she say she lived again?" Holly tried to remember what Colt told her & her family.

"I live near a mountain, on the far side of it." Though Colt's description of where she lived was brief & slightly confusing, Holly & her family never questioned her further about it.

"I wonder if this mountain she speaks of living by, could it be the one farthest from Toriyama?" The mountain she was thinking of was called Mount Kirus, the mountain home of the Baddies. But Holly quickly shook off the thought of any human living near that mountain due to its bad reputation, because of its Baddie residents. "But even if she lived right here in Toriyama, would she be too busy to have time for a relationship? For a, a girlfriend? If she would even want to spend time with another girl, like me, at all..."

"I wonder" Colt started to think, pausing for a moment to begin her nervous pacing again, "When I said, what I said, to Holly, I wonder what she was thinking. Did she find my comment, weird? Strange? Creepy even? I mean, I have no clue what the girl is even like, when it comes to romantic relationships that is…"

And from there, the even more nervous Colt let her imagination run wild with all sorts of possible scenarios. From ones that would possibly lead her to her first date with the wielder of the magic stone, to those that would leave the poor Baddie girl lonely for good. Colt took another deep breath & slowly exhaled before sitting on the edge of her bed again.

"If Holly does feel the way I do about romantic relationships, with someone of the same sex, then I may stand a chance. Maybe…"

"If Colt feels the same way I do about romantic relationships, with someone of the same gender, would she honestly see herself dating someone like me?" Holly wondered.

Holly mostly saw herself as a very plain & average girl. It often surprised her that anyone would even think about dating her, let alone trying to court her someday. But to her surprise, & unbeknownst to her family & her few village friends her dismay, some young village fellow would try to date her. A few were even brave enough to try to court her on the spot! But again, Holly could only politely refuse their offers; that is if her "uncle" Tiger or her "uncle" Suezo didn't catch up with those teen boys or young men first! Holly continued to star gaze as she continued to think about the possibilities of her & Colt as a couple.

"I guess there is only one way to find out. I will just have to meet her again. That is, if I get the chance to see her again. But even if I do, will I be able to share my feelings with her?" She began to worry as she imagined how such a conversation between her & Colt could go. Ranging from those that could lead to her first date with the aspiring archaeologist, to those that could leave her as lonely & (emotionally) ruined as the ancient ruins themselves.

"There's only one way to know if Holly would even think about dating another girl. Especially a girl like me." Colt thought as she looked to her small wooden dresser, staring at the Baddie crest which hung from one of the drawer knobs. "When I see Holly again I'll figure it out. Maybe if I would even be brave enough to just ask her. Or to even just ask her out, or something, simple enough…" she began to blush even more as she continued her train of thought.

Before long both Colt & Holly were thinking about each other so much that they had tired themselves out. Both girls got themselves ready for bed & were both anxious & excited about what the next day would bring them. Both girls were still thinking of each other, & though they had just met they were already wondering if they would make a good romantic pair. Until the day when they would meet again would come, Holly & Colt held onto hope.

Holly hoping that the young aspiring archaeologist would truly see potential in the two of them being a couple. Colt hoping that the wielder of the magic stone would accept her for who she was, & that she had truly found herself a treasure – a pendant in the ruins…