Recap: The clock began to chime as it reached nine o'clock.
"What a crowd," Him chirped with a little grin. Aku's smile wavered only slightly.
After five painful minutes, just as Aku's smile began to fade, there was a knock at the door.
"At last! The party has arrived in earnest!" Aku roared as he flew to the door. He paused to laugh triumphantly. Him sighed and rolled his eyes, gesturing to the door, where the knocking had become more incessant.
"Are you going to open that, or just leave them out there all night, hm?" He pointed out. Aku cleared his throat and smoothed out his great, flaming eyebrows. With a grin completely unleashed, he threw open the door to greet the tremendous crowd…of two.
"Greetings! And…welcome?" He sighed in disappointment. The two young women in his doorway exchanged confused glances. The red-haired woman on the right smiled sheepishly and crossed her hands in front of her.
"I'm so sorry we're late, I got a bit caught up at work. But, we're here! And we brought the board games you asked for!" The first woman, Blossom of the Powerpuff Girls, gestured to her sister and partner, Buttercup, who rolled her eyes and held up a duffel bag filled with boxes.
The disappointment in Aku's eyes vanished at the sight, "Wonderful! And it is no trouble at all, why, you are the first guests to arrive!" Aku led the two into the living room. Buttercup roughly dropped the duffel bag on the coffee table, while she and their former nemesis traded venomous glares.
Him smirked and licked his lips, "Why if it isn't my favorite pair…my, we haven't seen each other in days have we, hm?" he teased. Buttercup started to respond, but it was silenced by an icy glare from Blossom.
"Let me help you with the food, Sir!" she called. Blossom grabbed Buttercup by her collar and pulled her in close, "Play nice, okay?" Buttercup rolled her eyes and begrudgingly threw herself down on the sofa next to Him. The demon, his shit-eating grin growing wider and wider, crossed his legs oh so daintily.
"Yeah, sorry, some of us actually have jobs," she explained, taking off her hat and sunglasses. Him giggled, flipping his claw and summoning her hat onto his head.
He leered and lowered his voice, "A job, is that what you call it? I'd say getting paid to kiss your sisters ass all day is more a privilege than an occupation," Him erupted with giggles seeing Buttercup's face go through fifty shades of red. She snatched her hat back and grabbed him by his dress.
"I do not kiss her ass!" she hissed. Him rolled his eye and flapped his claws dismissively.
"Of course not, you would be the top, wouldn't you?" if it was possible, Buttercup's face discovered shades of red previously undocumented. She threw him back against the couch and crossed her arms, scooting as far from the demon as she could.
"Yo, Red, are you done yet?"
"Almost! We're just going to finish setting the table!" Blossom called back.
Him sighed dramatically, "Yes, do hurry. she becomes so very feral when you aren't within groping distance," This time, Buttercup retaliated with a punch that knocked him entirely off the sofa. He snarled and jumped up from a curled pile on the floor.
"I warned you, Fairy Dust!" Buttercup spat.
"Bring it on, Biker Boots!" He two launched at each other in a flurry of catty insults. In the kitchen, Aku and Blossom were none the wiser, lost in their own conversation.
Blossom sighed and set another tray on the table. She paused, looking at her reflection to adjust her tie, and went back to her story, "So, all-in-all, I'm sure that the Gangreen Gang won't cause any more trouble. And with Ace in prison for the next six years? I think we'll see a drop in inner Aku City crime by at least thirty-seven percent. They weren't exactly huge players, but they were influential in getting other kids into causing…" she trailed off when she felt a pair of huge hands grip her shoulders. Blossom looked up into her boss's fiery eyes.
"Blossom, dear, while Aku does appreciate your vigilance, he must ask that, if just for tonight, we leave your work at work. This is a night of celebration! You need not report your every finding as if Aku is grading your performance!" he explained. Blossom blushed and followed him back to the kitchen.
"Sorry, I just…I guess…I mean…I'm sorry, Sir," she stammered out. Aku turned and crossed his arms. Blossom blushed and smiled sheepishly.
"My dear Blossom…please. When we are in my home, you are privileged to know me as Aku, your friend. There is no need for such formality," he pointed out. Blossom nodded and stared at the floor.
"Right, I'm sorry, Aku," she apologized. Aku was already long gone, putting the finishing touches on the dinner table.
He paused and stroked his beard, "Something is missing…Blossom, could you check for other guests?" Blossom nodded and hurried to the living room, nearly tripping over Buttercup and Him's wrestling match. Him had morphed into his muscular form and Buttercup's jacket had been torn off, leaving her in a black tank top. The fight came to an abrupt halt when the two felt the temperature in the room drop.
"Hm? Oh…hello…Blossom," Him muttered with a small grin, his voice slipping, word by word, back into its usual falsetto.
Buttercup swallowed nervously, "H-Hey Red, how's the boss?" Blossom clenched her fists at her side. Her eyes where narrowed and, with each breath, she let out a puff of frosty air. The two separated and returned to their seats on the couch, neither one able to avoid her glare.
"What did I tell you?" she whispered. Buttercup sighed and crossed her arms. She and Him had both begun to shiver.
"Be nice…I know, sorry, I won't screw this up," she muttered. Him opened his mouth, but his biting remark got caught in his throat as Blossom pinned him to the couch by the ruffles on his dress.
"I know you and Aku are close, and I know we aren't exactly enemies anymore. But if you do anything, ANYTHING, to embarrass me, or Buttercup, or do anything to screw up my chance to impress Aku, I will not be nice. Is that understood?" she hissed. Him nodded quickly. He coughed and rubbed his throat when she let him down.
Blossom peeked through the peephole on the door. She frowned and left Aku's quarters, scanning all the way down to the main hall. To her chagrin…she couldn't find anyone but the minions. No one else had shown up for Aku's party.
"Something wrong?" Buttercup asked, floating around the corner. Blossom was fussing with her skirt and her hair and pacing back and forth. Buttercup sighed and flew up close, wrapping her arms around her waist and pulling her into a tight hug, "Blossom? What's wrong?"
Blossom bit her lip, "There's no one here. No one else showed up. Buttercup, how can I tell him that no one else showed up? He's going to be dev…he might blame me. Oh my God, what if it's my fault? What if his usual friends didn't show up because I came? Oh God, oh God, he's going to fire me…no. Worse…" Blossom's voice became a high-pitched whisper, "He's going to hate me…" she moaned.
Buttercup wanted to laugh, but couldn't seeing the tears start to form in Blossom's eyes. She shushed her and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.
"It's not your fault…relax, you know Lord Boss Dude is crazy about you. C'mon, let's go back and just let him down easy. Who knows? We could still have fun tonight, yeah?" Buttercup cooed. Blossom turned and stared at her wide-eyed. Just tell Aku the bad news? Buttercup had obviously never done that before. With the Master of Masters…there was no letting him down easy.
"I'm going to die…he's going to kill me," Blossom muttered, staring blankly into space. Buttercup grabbed her hand and pulled her back to the Shogun of Sorrow's living quarters.
"So how many places must Aku set? Fifty? A hundred?" Aku asked, appearing from the kitchen excitedly. Blossom stared at him, unable to speak or even breathe. Buttercup sighed and scratched her head.
"Just…four?" The three guests swore they heard glass shatter somewhere in the distance. Aku stood, hands clasped and an all-too-broad grin on his face, staring at the Powerpuff sisters. After a few minutes of silence…
"Four it is! And what a feast for four it will be! Let us make our way to the dining room!" Blossom and Buttercup traded a look, then turned to Him. Him sighed and shook his head, but gestured for the two to follow their host.
Him whistled, seeing the massive feast laid out before them. Buttercup's mouth fell open in awe. Tears filled Blossom's eyes and she was afraid she was going to cry once more. Aku took his seat at the head of the table and laughed boisterously.
"Come! Eat! Drink! Be merry!" The three traded another glance…and then took their seats at the table.