"Hey Ruddle, what is love like?" Rumina questioned sharply. The usually innocent and curious manner of asking (characteristic of a 'normal' child) was lost on Rumina. She asked the question in a matter-of-fact tone, as if it was urgent to the success of their business and not to satiate her curiosity.

To Ruddle, it was a demand. A complicated demand. He knew he needed to calculate his answer carefully: if he said the wrong answer, the girl just may end up beating her little fists on his chest. Or worse…she may keep on badgering him. And Ruddle always knew that the correct answer was the answer Rumina wanted to hear.

However, what did she want to hear?

Most of the time, Ruddle can dance around her various whims and caprices. Right now, he is truly stumped.

Uh-oh. Rumina is tapping her feet. If I don't act soon, in exactly 5.32 seconds, I will be in trouble. He thought desperately.

To buy time, he asked, "Miss Rumina, where did that question come from? Usually whatever you say is somehow related to our business." He smiled in spite of himself. By twisting her question against her, he placed her in partial blame—the blame of not thinking about the business and placing her personal matters first.

"Oh Ruddle! Forget about the business for a moment. That's what we are all about. Business, and more business. I know I know you, but I don't know you. You know?" She said in one breath, pausing to hyperventilate.

Confused, Ruddle shook his head and laughed. Rumina was really getting worked up. If he plays this out carefully, he can have more fun teasing her. "How did you go from thinking about our business to love?"

"Grr, you can be really dense sometimes. All I am trying to say is, that we don't know enough about each other on a personal level. I don't know much outside your full name, where you lived before, and where we traveled. I guess I was just asking if you fell in love before," Rumina said, looking down. "I figured, if we are going to launch a huge enterprise like my father's one day, we oughta know each other better," she added defensively.

"And you had to ask about that first?" Ruddle asked plainly, without the usual hesitation. "It's not like I am some girl friend of yours. Guys don't gossip about stuff like that."

"Just answer the question already. It was the most personal thing I could think of asking," Rumina replied. "No one is in our shop right now, anyway."

Alright. I've got her cornered. I broke through the 'Armory.' She's defensive. "Ah, I see where you are coming from. But let's see if we could have a trade-off. As an experienced entrepreneur such as yourself, you must know that—"

"—Nothing is free. Yeah yeah…." Rumina finished the old mercantile adage. "I get it. You answer my question, and you can ask me anything you want, and I will answer honestly."

"Okay then, I will answer your question. I will hold you up to your end of the bargain though, so watch out!" For a dramatic effect, he breathed in deeply, and stretched backwards, so that he may peek out the window. "Oh, it looks like our shipment of alchemy materials is here…."

"No no no no no! They will not be able to come in for a little while. We….we are on a lunch break! That's it! I will close down for a half hour," Rumina said in fevered tones, closing the door and putting a sign up.

"Even though it is barely morning?" Ruddle said, biting back laughter. The shipment won't even come until evening. The fact that she is willing to close down the shop for a little while is astounding. We never had lunch breaks before. That shows me how desperately she wants the answer.

"You are running out of excuses, mister! Answer the question!" Rumina said, as if she wasn't the one with all the excuses.

Ruddle pretended to be weary with the heavy knowledge about to be revealed, sitting on a nearby chair, rubbing his head. "Love…."

Rumina sat in a chair opposite of him, leaning in, eager for his words.

"…I don't know what it's like."

"WHAT?!" Rumina exploded. "How cheap! You are lying, just so you can tease me. All that hullabaloo for nothing…."

"I am serious Rumina! I never had a girlfriend before. Not ever. When I lived in the mountains I mostly worked and studied. Once I traveled, I never stuck around a place much to get to know people better," Ruddle sighed. I never have liked to reveal that information. At least I got Rumina to work for it first.

Rumina sat back, staring at him for a while.

"Well, I guess you must be telling the truth. Guys should be embarrassed about stuff like that, right? Well, I will change that. Ruddle, I will find you a girlfriend. And what's the worst that can happen? In fact, let's think of this as a business venture. More girls you know, the more business we will have. Maybe I can start a separate business on the side. I can see it now: Rumina's Matchmaking Service. People from all over Gaitt will come to me to find their soulmates!"

Ruddle groaned. Another whim she settled upon. And once she settled on something, she didn't want to quit. However, he did like how her eyes shone with a myriad of opportunities. She is a dreamer….Rumina always had an almost magical quality of manifesting dreams into reality, one way or another.

"Haha, whatever you wish, Rumina! All I ask is that you don't leave Kirlsa without me…and try to be back before nightfall."

"Ok Ruddle, I expect you to look after the business while I am gone," she replied in a managerial tone, leaving him to shelf items.

It was a bright morning in Kirlsa, the sun shining and promising a good day to merchants, inventors, and believers of Apris alike. Lately, Kirlsa was nearly as busy as Peterny, especially with more people from Aquaria after the peace treaty. Surely a sign of prosperity and good fortune to come.

Ah, who should I set Ruddle up with? Rumina thinks, walking out into the bustling street, scanning the crowds. Rumina spots a girl. Ah, she is cute! I will talk to her.

A/N:

Hey, it's me, Xave! I am back with another SO3 fanfiction. I absolutely adore Ruddle and Rumina. They are a pretty well-hidden sidequest, so if you don't know who their characters are, you should look them up on youtube for the cutscenes. I started a completely new game because before I didn't even know their side quest existed, and I wanted the blueprints to get Izak. When I finally saw them, I was filled with the urge to fabricate their story more. I wish that there was more of them in the game. Same with the inventors. :3 I just saw so much more potential. If SO3 were to continue, Greeton should be more involved, the inventors, and Ruddle/Rumina of course. Also Suferio…. Sorry, this note went on forever.

So if you wanna know who Rumina spotted in the crowds, look forward to the next chapter! Please review or add to your alerts list. That way, I have an idea of how many actually read this story. So that I know I am not wasting my time too much. XD