"So on a scale of one to ten, how much trouble am I in?"

Homika and Jasmine exchanged a look and Homika grumbled. "That depends on what happened."

He looked over at Chase. "Well he was there so he can backup anything I say."

"So what happened?"

He sighed. "Well I guess you could say I got strong armed into raiding Team Aqua's hideout with Kasumi. I suppose it was her way of getting back because we almost caught her. Anyways we raided it but she stole something and then left me to deal with Team Aqua."

Homika stomped her foot. "I feel like there are details I'm missing!"

Jasmine nodded. "Y-yea like why do you smell like perfume all over?"

"Well…she was kinda all over me. See…I never wanted to team up with her and kept trying to escape but she got tired of that and handcuffed us together."

Homika blushed. "You know…there are a lot of things that come to mind when you say—"

"Roxie get your mind out of the gutter," Jasmine said.

"He put it there! All right, whatever. So she handcuffed you two together. That still doesn't explain why you've got perfume all over you!"

"I already said she was all over me! She's like that. I tried to get her off me but she wouldn't have it. And then to make sure she got away, she pinned me against the wall and…made out with me."

"So she kissed you?"

"Jasmine, I think there was more than kissing…bodies pressed against each other, tongues halfway down—"

"This was all on her part, right Chase?"

Chase confirmed what he said and Jasmine sighed. "Ethan, how do you keep getting yourself into these situations?"

"He's shy, innocent and…well that attracts the aggressive girls like Sharpedo to blood."

"Well I suppose that explains why you were attracted to him."

"You aren't exactly shy and docile yourself," Homika pointed out. Jasmine blushed as she realized she couldn't counter that one. He and Chase looked at each other and he sighed.

"So are we done?"

"Well other than Kasumi and you exploring each other in very intimate ways, what else did you find out?"

"Well she mentioned something about Team Aqua having ulterior goals or something to that effect and I thought I was in the process of learning something but she got a pair of sticky fingers and set off an alarm while stealing something so in the end, I didn't get to learn a thing!"

Well except he hadn't been kissed that hard since Jasmine had done it to him. That and he really needed something to cool himself off, like a really cold shower. "Ethan, you're blushing."

"Let's ignore that. I think I may have come across something at the hideout but I couldn't be sure."

"Well…I know Team Aqua consists of a bunch of pirates but that's about it. I mean if we're trying to get back in the good graces of everyone, we're gonna have to tangle soon. Maybe we should look into it," Jasmine said.

He chuckled. "I think we should. That was my plan at least…but I think we're gonna need a boat for that. Or a water Pokemon big enough to ride on…"

"You mean like a Wailord?"

"Jasmine, how the f*** do you expect us to sneak around with a Wailord?" Homika asked. "We might as well wear a bright neon sign—"

"There are other water Pokemon. Sharpedo are pretty fast in the water. You already own an Empoleon Jasmine. I like to use Juan but I have to admit, he isn't the fastest in the water."

"Sooo we need to find some water Pokemon to get around and then we can start investigating Team Aqua?"

"W-well…Empoleon is pretty strong…perhaps we should go check out that hideout you were just at? You already said you were on the verge of finding something, right?"

"Jasmine, why would we go back out there? Wouldn't they be on edge after being invaded once?"

"Of course. They would never expect anyone to come back while they're on alert, which is why it's the perfect time to show!"

"Well…it's not exactly sound but I can see where you're coming from!"

Homika cleared her throat. "I hate to toss water on this Ethan and Jasmine love fest but—"

"Though the thing is, the hideout isn't all that big. I don't think all three of us need to go—"

"The hell?"

"I'm being honest."

Jasmine and Homika exchanged a look. "So, it's obvious Ethan has to go but how do we choose who gets to tag along?"

"Coin flips of course!" Homika said. She took out a coin and Jasmine sighed.

"A coin flip? But every time we do that, most of the time you end up winning."

Homika glared at her. "Are you saying I'm rigging this or something?"

"W-w-well not exactly. It just seems that—"

"Maybe you're just unlucky. There is nothing wrong with this coin."

"Hey, don't I get a say in this matter?" Ethan asked.

"No," the two of them said together and he figured that was the end of that. Homika held it out to Jasmine.

"Fine, you call it—"

"Tails."

"Fine by me," she said. She flipped into the air and slapped it down on her hand. She laughed. "Well heads it is!—"

"Give me that!" Jasmine said as she snatched the coin from Homika. She looked it over with a saddened look on her face. "I…don't get it."

Homika snatched it away. "Like I said, you have bad luck. Maybe next time."

Juan let out an annoyed quack as they neared the island where the hideout was. To his surprise, there weren't any Team Aqua grunts about on patrol. He kind of expected after they were invaded just yesterday but it looked as if it was business as usual. That or maybe they had abandoned it?

"Didn't you say you two were here yesterday?"

"Yep."

"So then why does it look like this? You think would be on guard after getting invaded the day before."

He sighed. "That's what I was wondering. I guess we'll find out soon enough."

They landed ashore as poor Juan let out an exhausted quack. He pat him on the head. "Go relax. We shouldn't be long."

He swam off and Homika folded her arms. "You need to get a better f****** Pokemon if you're gonna use it to get around in the water. A Ludicolo is not what I call—"

"He does his job just fine. He just isn't used to hauling two people around—"

"Are you calling me a fat f***?!"

"I didn't say that."

She put a hand on her hip. "I swear you were thinking it."

"I didn't think rock stars really cared about how they looked anyway. As long as they could produce a song, it was all good."

"Do you see any fat girl rockers?"

He rubbed his chin. "Well now that you think about it—"

"No. No one wants to see a fat f****** singer. Guys can get away with it just fine but if I start to put on any weight, my popularity is shot. Well it's shot already but still!"

"You aren't fat so stop talking like that."

He crawled up the hill and began searching the same spot he had hit earlier when he found the switch. It didn't take him long to find it, causing the door to slide open. This time he crawled inside and heard Homika giggle. "What is it?"

"I was just thinking how much I want to see you're a** in a Speedo."

He didn't even answer for a few minutes as he walked down to the door. "I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that."

"You're embarrassed your girlfriend wants to see more of you?"

"I'm sure you've seen quite enough of me."

"F*** no. There's always time for more."

He took out the Pokeball holding Chase and summoned him. "Jasmine is right, you really do need to get your mind out of the gutter."

"It never left. And I like how you keep portraying Jasmine as some innocent minded girl."

He opened the door and slipped into the storage room. To his surprise, or perhaps not, a lot of the crates and boxes had been emptied. He walked over to one of the crates and found a lone Pokeball inside. He picked it up as Homika entered. "Wow, maybe they did abandon the place."

"Well…we still don't know for sure," he said. He glanced at the Pokeball and remembered the design. He knew it was a ball that Team Rocket had been working on. Giovanni had even given him some to use, Pokeballs that allowed the person to steal a Pokemon that was already under the care of someone and mold their will to theirs instead. Just the thought of it made him a bit sick. "Well…just the kind of tools I'd expect pirates to have."

"Huh?"

He got to his feet. "Nothing."

"What's that you have? I've never seen that Pokeball before."

He tossed it aside. "I think it's better that way—"

"Huh, what's that supposed to mean? Hey wait up!"

He walked down to the other door but heard voices on the other side. He looked over to Chase and snapped his fingers, causing the two of them to turn invisible. He inched closer to the door to get a better angle. "So were you able to learn the identity of our two troublemakers?"

"I'm sorry Archie. We know one of them was Kasumi, I'd recognize that bright orange hair anywhere but the guy…"

Archie, didn't Kasumi say he was the leader of Team Aqua? What was he doing here?

"Yes?"

"Well…he resembled a guy who was recently killed, the last known leader of Team Rocket."

"Really? Hmm, might be a coincidence. Still, Kasumi is a pest to be sure. We'll have to deal with her so she won't cause more trouble."

"Do we really need to? She's nothing more than a gem thief. What would she care about our goals? She's a pest sure but a pest that can be ignored mostly."

"Hmmm—"

"I understand how you may feel about her Archie but she hasn't shown any interest in exposing our goals. She's a petty little pirate girl who's only interested in stealing everything not nailed down. And then some."

Archie chuckled. His voice was pretty deep and strong, the kind of voice you would expect from a pirate. "Perhaps you're right Matt. Kasumi aside, there is the matter of this other fellow."

"Yea, he appears to have a Pokemon that allows him to sneak around undetected, a Pokemon native to Unova. He also had another Unova Pokemon with him. So far, we've identified him with a Ludicolo, a Litwick and a Galvantula."

"Interesting."

"His resemblance to the late Team Rocket leader is almost too close—"

"You're saying you think the man has come from the dead?"

"Team Rocket has suddenly appeared in Hoehn and the supposed leader is carrying Pokemon that he was known to use. Unless there is some sort of imposter running around…"

Archie laughed. "Sounds like we have a real mystery on our hands. To be honest, while I haven't heard much yet out of Team Rocket, the fact that they're around means we might want to play it cautious. Allow them to show their hand."

"Caution usually isn't a word I hear from a pirate."

"Haha you're right! Maybe I am going a bit soft! Well…you know, maybe I should arrange a meeting with this leader of Team Rocket and see what he's up to."

"It can't hurt I suppose. Maybe after our little presentation at Slateport. You think we'll be able to increase our numbers there?"

"I'm sure. All of our presentations so far have done very well. At first our numbers increased a little but the number has grown with each presentation. In fact, I think I better get over there."

"And I will get over to our new hideout near Dewford."

Once the two of them left, Chase turned them visible again and he looked at Homika. "Interesting."

"I guess I'm glad Jasmine said we should check out the hideout again. Congratulations, you're infamous now."

"Thanks. I guess my appearance would really shake things up. I'm not sure how they would handle that! But…"

"So these f****** have a legitimate arm? Where they try to recruit others into their little gang, then they indoctrinate them?"

He shrugged. "Maybe. Won't know until we check it out for ourselves…"

"But what about this new hideout?"

He folded his arms. "Hmm, that's a good question. I think we're gonna have to split up again. I will go check out the hideout while you and Jasmine can go visit the presentation."

Homika frowned. "Wait, why can't the two of us go to the presentation while Jasmine—"

"If there's anyone who's good at sneaking around hideouts, it would be me. I've been at this quite a while, remember?"

"Y-yea but…f***."

"Between me, Chase, Bolt and the others, I think I can handle myself just fine. I doubt many of the Team Aqua grunts are familiar with Unova Pokemon so I've got that going for me."

"F***. Yea yea, I know it makes perfect sense…that's why I don't like it."

"There will be plenty of other opportunities for us to work together. Well as long as you keep winning that coin flip."

If there were one thing he knew about criminals, it was that they usually loved to operate at night. Well actually Team Rocket didn't seem to have an issue with running around and openly committing their crimes in the day but they were perhaps the most brazen. And from what he had read, many of the pirates here often worked most at night so he figured if he laid in wait around Dewford, something would happen. He sat on a makeshift raft, staring up at the starry skies while Juan swam around, quacking happily as he went. Too much water aside; he forgot the last time he could sit around, staring up at the night sky with not a care in the world. Probably before he kept getting dragged into stuff like this. "Man Juan, I think I really should consider something more peaceful."

He let out a curious quack and Ethan chuckled. "Well something with less danger. Maybe I should try taking my grandparents up on their offer and take over the Day Care Center for them."

Juan let out another curious quack and he laughed. "Well what would I do? That's easy, take care of Pokemon. Maybe I could also use it as a sort of home for abused or abandoned Pokemon that could eventually get a new home. What, you don't think I could do it? Watch, I bet I'll be just fine at it."

Juan let out a long quack and he felt like shooting him a look. "What? If I'm so sick of getting dragged into stuff like this, why did I? I needed something to do! I can't just sit around and fish all day. I guess I could have tackled the gyms but that just attracts too much attention. Yes I know tackling pirates isn't much different but at least here, I'm only attracting the attention of pirates or criminals. It's quite another to be attracting the attention of the general public."

He sighed and again Juan had another response. "Yea, I'm not sure Homika would care much if I decided to take over the Day Care Center. I think she would be too interested in her comeback. That doesn't mean it'd be over, I think there is still plenty of time for us to spend together. Jasmine would be just a few towns over so that takes care of that issue."

He folded his arms. "I wonder…will I ever be able to go back to living a normal life? How long might it take to clear my name? I mean I've heard in some cases, it could take years or even an entire lifetime before someone's name is clear. That would suck, having to live my life in exile for so long. Worse is that I've condemned Jasmine to it as well. At least Homika has an out if need be…though I really doubt she'll use it until my name is clear. I wonder if she's happy about her decision?"

Juan let out a quack and he sat up. He saw a large boat sail past them and he could hear voices singing in unison. Sounded like a bunch of guys and he noticed the Team Aqua logo printed on a blue flag hanging from the side. He hopped onto Juan and they began to follow, summoning Chase again to cloak him from view. Man, he couldn't be more thankful Chase had joined; he had been more useful than he ever imagined.

The boat sailed around the large island where Dewford lay and eventually arrived at a large island west of it. As he got closer, he saw it approach a cave within the cove and pass through what appeared to be a wall. "I see…that way no one is the wiser. Again, I bet you money there is an entrance onshore—"

Juan cut him short with a suggestion. "Ahh…yea, they might be expecting that. We did come in that way the first time and if they're smart, they'll be watching. Well then…the entrance it is!"

They slipped in through the entrance and he entered a docking area, where several boats and jet skis were parked. As he climbed onto the catwalk, he saw several Team Aqua grunts unloading the boat he had seen come in, each one carrying off a large box or crate. He rubbed his chin and nodded. He would bet money that stuff came from the first hideout. A door opened and another grunt, this time a blond haired woman walked out. "Hey you two hurry it up! The meeting is supposed to start in a few minutes!"

"All right, all right! There was just so much stuff we had to load up—"

"Well we've got plenty of time to unload it. Matt wants everyone around so he can discuss what's coming up next," she said. Boy, this looked like it'd be quite the productive outing. He walked over to the main part of the room and winced as he walked along the rough ground, wishing he had brought some sandals or something. "I wonder if they have any spare uniforms…nah, all the grunts look pretty buff, I'd stick out like a sore thumb."

The woman went back inside the room she had come from and he followed her inside. Inside this large room sat a large amount of male and female Team Aqua grunts. So many in fact that there weren't enough chairs for all of them and quite a few had to stand around in back or along the walls. He looked around for a place to sit and decided to go with the bold approach and sit right up in front, down in front of the stage. He saw the door open and the last two grunts enter. Matt was stocky man with a barrel for a chest, choosing to show it to everyone, wearing only a light blue vest with the Team Aqua logo on the side. He wore the same style pants as the rest of the grunts though, along with the cap, which concealed some of his dark red hair. He rubbed his chin and laughed. "So, this is everyone? Good, gather around boys and girls because we have a lot to cover! First, if some of you don't know, our other hideout was invaded. By Kasumi and some other character we don't know much about. He might be connected to the same guy who declared himself apart of Team Rocket."

That earned some hushes from the crowd. "Yes yes I know, Team Rocket is supposed to be dead. They said that twice already so it's apparent that we need to be on the lookout for them. Don't concern yourselves as much about Kasumi, she's nothing but a petty thief but if you can learn anything about this Team Rocket or its individuals, let me know at once."

He smiled. "Second, thanks to some informants, we have learned the location of the Meteorite, which lies deep inside Meteor Falls. A team will go there to get it and bring it to Mount Chimney for the next step in our plans. We will use the meteorite to silence the volcano, allowing the once fiery crater to fill with rainwater. This will also prevent the volcano's lava flows from enlarging the continent further…there is already too much land as is in Hoehn."

Was that a joke? He had to be kidding, right? Hoehn had nothing but water! It was more like a giant island than a continent. "Another group will also head to the volcano to back up the first group and make sure no one interrupts us. It is very important that we get this off without a hitch and any interlopers must be dealt with swiftly."

Honestly between him with Bolt and Juan and Jasmine with Rai, they would make mincemeat of Team Aqua. And then you add in Roxie backing them up with a wave of Toxic attacks and it'd be overkill. It would depend on how many they sent there too. He heard something bump into the wooden stand behind him and felt some water fall on his head. He looked around and suddenly heard a bunch of gasps in the room and every eye fall on him. Well, splashing water on Chase was one way to get around his invisibility act. "Well well well, look who we have here, an uninvited guest," Matt said.

Ethan turned and kicked the wooden stand behind him, knocking it into Matt and sending him to the ground. As he got to his feet, he felt two pairs of strong arms grab him from behind and force him to the ground. Matt got to his feet and walked over. "Well…I think we've found our mystery man."

"How about you let me go?"

"Nah. Hey, nice ring you got there. So did you rob it off the dead body of the last leader of Team Rocket?"

"Something like that—"

"Great, we got ourselves an amateur here!" Matt said as everyone laughed. He knelt next to him and rubbed his chin. "You've got a lot of guts coming here again. You think you're real smart, don't you?"

"It worked the first time. And it worked the second time, until you got clumsy that is."

"How about you go ahead and tell me Team Rocket's plans? Especially since you were so f****** kind enough to listen on ours?"

Ethan chuckled. "Plans? My plans will depend on what I learn about these gangs hanging around Hoehn. We will find out all we can and then go from there."

"Why were you working with Kasumi?"

"She knew about where one of your hideouts were. That's about the gist of it."

"A call would have sufficed."

Ethan smiled as he saw Chase reappear. "I doubt we would have gotten the answers we needed."

"Well this is all you'll learn," he said. Suddenly his arms passed through the two guys who had been holding him down and he got to his feet just as Chase turned him invisible again. Matt jumped to his feet. "Seal off the entrances! We can't let him escape!"

He walked over to the corner of the room and watched as all the grunts poured out into the rest of the hideout. Yea, good luck with that one. Matt made a fist and walked over to the wooden stand and slammed his fist on it, sending a large crack down the middle of it. "How could he just escape like that? We had him right in our grasps and all of a sudden, he's gone! And he's heard about our plans too. We can't just suspend them. And he made no indication that he would step in either…I suppose we'll just have to make do."

He thought about leaving as he had probably learned more than enough but the door opened and a grunt dragged in a bikini clad Kasumi. Then again, he had yet to see her not in a bikini. "We found her sneaking around in one of the back rooms, picking through the boxes and crates."

He forced her to the ground while Matt hopped down from the stage. "Pressing your luck Kasumi?"

"Hehe, if it isn't Archie's lap dog. I've never seen you so flustered in your life," she said with a giggle. Matt seemed to grow more furious with each word and he stepped forward and kicked her in the face.

"Shut up you stupid b****! I've got enough trouble as is, I don't need you ruining it for me!"

"Heh…what are you so…worried about? Aren't you the big and bad Matt? The infamous scourge of the seas?"

That only made it worse and he kicked her again. Her head began to slump toward the ground and he could see blood dripping from her face. Wait, why was he just watching this? He wasn't a fan of Kasumi in the slightest but still. He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her head up. "You think you're so smart, don't you? I'll fix you good. I'll make sure you won't be bothering us—"

"I hope you know I never actually left," Ethan said as he stepped forward, Chase allowing him to become visible again. The three of them looked over at him as he took out two Pokeballs. "And you two are a part of Team Aqua. I bet you carry nothing but water Pokemon but guess what? I've got two friends here who do nothing but make mincemeat out of water Pokemon all day."

Matt and the grunt exchanged looks and the grunt let her go. "Whatever your name is—"

"It's Hibiki. And if you continue to get on my nerves, I will be forced to step in and stop your plans. Team Rocket doesn't really care for playing the part of the hero so don't make me consider it."

Matt chuckled. "Very well Hibiki, we'll leave in peace," he said as the two of them left. Ethan watched them leave and looked over at Chase with a wink.

"Easy as pie."

Kasumi groaned and sat up. She sported a bloodied nose and lip but didn't look too bad otherwise. "Hee hee, well I guess I deserved that one."

"You're okay?"

She looked at him and blushed. "Of course. I didn't expect you to come to my aid."

"Yea, fine, whatever. I'm leaving," he said as he began to make tracks for the door. Time to get back home and wait for the others to return. As he neared the door, he felt her drape her arm across his shoulders.

"Hold on just a minute lover boy—"

"I'm not your lover, or your boy."

She grabbed him and pinned him against the wall. For someone who had just taken several hard kicks to the face, she sure recovered quickly. "You still haven't told me why you did it."

"I know. And I'm not going to give you a reason. Just my random good deed of the day, and you just happened to be the lucky recipient. Now let me go!"

"Not yet love. Now I'm gonna have to owe you."

"Trust me, you don't owe me anything. Except to leave me alone," he said as he pushed her away and walked out the door. Chase turned him invisible again as he entered the chaos filled dock, the grunts hard at work trying to seal off any entrance or exit points, even though he wasn't worried at all about them. He walked right by Matt and some grunts, sticking his tongue at them and walking through the side of the cave wall, emerging on the outside. He whistled for Juan and it only took him a few minutes to reappear. He hopped on. "Back to the raft!"

"Well Juan, here is what we know so far. Team Aqua plans to grab some meteorite from Meteor Falls…yea how original and plan to take it to Mount Chimney, also very original. There they plan to use it to cause the volcano to stop erupting and allowing the crater to fill up with water."

Juan let out a quack and he laughed. "Yea, I know it sounds kinda stupid but it is what it is. I don't really know what to think about it."

Juan seemed a bit bugged by it. "Yea, I'm not sure about their plan to cause the volcano to stop erupting. I know volcanoes can be pretty destructive but they also have a lot of benefits too, right? I mean really, if it was such a bad thing, how has Hoehn been able to get along just fine with it around?"

Juan quacked in amusement and he laughed along with him as he stared up at the night sky. "I'm with you Juan, how does having a stupid meteorite cause an entire volcano to stop erupting? Does it have strange mystical powers? Is the volcano suddenly appeased when they throw it into the lava? It doesn't make any sense!" He said. He yawned and curled up on the raft. It was getting pretty late and what was worse was the fact that Pacifidilog was so far away. "I guess I'll just sleep out here underneath the stars—"

He heard a splash from behind and a familiar giggle. "Hey love."

"Kasumi now is not the time. Now let me get some sleep."

"Hold on there! You rescued me back there, the least I can do is find you a place to sleep!"

"I'm fine, thanks."

"And what happens when you accidentally roll off the raft and fall into the water?"

"Well I'll wake up for one—"

"And be too drowsy to do anything. Now come on."

"Where are we going?"

"To my hideout. It isn't very far from here. I'd suggest Dewford but I don't think you want to be there."

"Not really. But—oh whatever."

Kasumi's hideout, if you could even call it that, was housed inside a wrecked schooner that lay in the middle of a large cove, next to an island with a pair of small volcanoes. Pirates, volcanoes…the only other thing Hoehn needed were hostile natives and it'd be perfect. Once you got up the ladder and past a door, he found a richly decorated room…a room filled from top to bottom with treasure. The table was nothing more than a barrel with a large piece of round wood nailed to the top, with large wooden. The dresser was also nothing more than a giant wooden chest with a large mirror sat behind it. He winced as he stepped on a few pearl necklaces and numerous coins lying on the floor. "Do you ever clean up?"

"I'm a pirate, why would I need to clean up?" She yelled from another room. He flopped onto her huge bed with a dark red comforter and a golden design of all things, a trio of two Starmie and a single Staryu. It was a pretty fancy design and he sat there admiring it for a bit before he yawned again. He saw what looked like a futon nearby and decided that would be a safer spot to lie down. He crawled over to it and flopped onto it. A little lumpy in places but it would do. She walked out from the other room, wearing just a half buttoned white tee shirt and he rolled over to not get a better look. "I'd be careful about that futon."

"It does the job, a little lumpy but I've had—"

"It's lumpy because—"

He shifted over just a tad and it broke, causing him to roll off the bed and onto the floor. "Oh."

She giggled. "Well I guess I can just steal another one. Maybe something in better condition. It's getting harder and harder to plunder nowadays, it seems everyone wants to be a pirate, you know?"

Not really. "Why not get a legitimate hobby?"

"That isn't any fun!" She said as she sat down in front of the makeshift dresser. She reached into her shirt and pulled out an emerald colored looking gem. She peered at it and let out a sigh. "Hmmm."

"Don't you get bored of it?"

"Of plundering? No way, it's just too much fun. I know I'm set financially but the thrill of it is like a drug. It's so intoxicating…yet so fleeting. The thrill never lasts long enough for me to enjoy it so I go out and do it again. Find something even greater and harder to steal…and grab it!"

She turned to face him and put her hands on her knees. "Oh…well I guess I know how that is."

"Exactly! Though I'm sure you have other ways of satisfying that urge. Although I gotta admit, the pretty gems and trinkets I find are a nice little prize too."

"I figure."

She tapped the side of her cheek. "I mean that is what I was doing at the hideout—"

"Did you follow me again?"

She giggled. "Nope. I just came across it myself. I saw a boat enter earlier so I opted to check it out. I heard meeting taking place and even when they grabbed you so I decided to take advantage of the distraction to grab a few things," she said. She giggled, putting her hands between her legs and kicking the side of the chest. "It was so great, I even left the door wide open so they would see me and try to catch me."

He sat up. "What? Why would you—"

She held up one hand and flashed a victory sign at him with a grin. "The thrill, the excitement! The rush you get from knowing you could get captured any minute but you go on with it anyway! And then when you escape—"

"Yea but if it weren't for me, you might not have escaped."

"Of course! I would have found a way out eventually, I always do but…whooo! And then you stepped forward and threatened to do nasty things to them if they went any further."

"Yea, well…whatever."

She hunched over and smiled. "So thanks for that!"

"I already said whatever!"

"Fine, fine. Be that way. I know what you really wanted; you were itching to get back at me, weren't you? You couldn't stand the thought of being shown up like that!"

To be honest, it had been in the back of his mind. He would have loved to do the same thing almost. He had planned to let Matt humiliate her but when things got physical, he decided revenge would have to wait. "I guess it did cross my mind."

"Of course. And you know what? I was dying to see how you would do it. I was totally expecting it but I figured you would find a way to turn the tide and surprise me."

"Yea but now I can't because you're expecting it."

"You're smart love. I'm sure you'll figure out something. I can't exactly let myself get worried about what you'll do. I'll just continue doing my thing and you'll continue doing your thing."

He shrugged and rolled over to one side of the bed. Just as he closed his eyes, he felt the bed move and turned to see Kasumi lying next to him. She rolled over and crawled over him, her shirt hanging down. "Can I go to bed now?"

"You know love, usually after the brave knight saves the princess, he's usually entitled to a smashing reward."

He looked at her, a bit confused as he was in the state between being asleep and not quite there yet. "Huh…what?" He said before it dawned on him. He reached up and grasped her hand, just as she looked to be undoing one of the few buttons on her shirt. "Nope, sorry. I'm fine. I appreciate the offer but allowing me to crash here is good enough."

"Aww don't be like that."

He sat up and pushed her down onto the bed. "Now one of us will be lying under the covers and one of us on top. What will it be?"

She winked. "Third option."

"There isn't a third option."

"All right, I'll take under the covers."

He let out a sigh of relief and rolled back over to his side. He pulled the pillow close and sighed. Now this was gonna be real fun to explain. "Boy…"

"Call it a hunch but I think you'll take me up on my offer soon enough."

"You just keep thinking that. I'm perfectly happy with what I have."

"Are you?"