Ran smiled apologetically at the viewscreen. "Sorry, Mama, but I'm not going to be able to go shopping with you today. Maybe we can go another time?"

Her mother glared back menacingly. "Well, are you at least coming over for dinner tonight?"

Ran almost shivered. "No, Mama," she answered meekly. "I've got a date with Rei-san tonight."

Her mother sighed. "It seems like you're off on a date almost every day."

"Rei-san can't cook very well," Ran explained patiently.

"Ran, you're going to spoil that boy," her mother warned.

"That's fine," Ran replied cheerfully. "As long as he's happy then I'm happy too."

"I don't recall raising you to be so dependent on a man."

"I'm not," Ran growled, finally losing her patience. "I just enjoy his company. Is that so wrong?"

"Whatever you say," her mother replied, nonplussed by her daughter's tone. "I'll talk to you tomorrow then."

Ran gritted her teeth as the phone disconnected. She tried hard not to lose her temper around her mother, but the longer she stayed nearby the harder it was. Sooner or later she had a feeling that she was going to say something that she would regret.

"Rei-san's going to love this new recipe," she muttered as she returned to the kitchen. Seeing one of her messenger dolls sitting nearby, she pursed her lips. "I should let him know that we're going out tonight."

She naturally assumed he would be free. The oni pilot lived on his own, his mother having kicked the overzealous eater out years ago. She sometimes wondered if she was the only one who still cared about him. Of course his peers recognized him for his piloting abilities, but even amongst them he had no real friends.

Quickly recording a message for the doll and making sure to turn off the self-destruct command, Ran sent it toddling off to find Rei. It would be easier just to call him, but she liked the extra personal touch. Plus the doll would find him no matter if he was home or not.

That done, she turned back towards the meal she had been preparing before her mother's call. At this rate she'd really have to hurry in order to get everything ready in time.

Rei glared irritably into his refrigerator. It seemed like he had just gone shopping, but once again the shelves were bare. He sighed and softly closed the door. It was hard having such a big appetite. When he was on duty he made do on tiny rations, and when he was at home he was constantly struggling to stay within his meager budget. If it wasn't for Ran's kindness he didn't know how he'd make it.

He sat down glumly. It wasn't his fault that he needed to eat so much. He had the rare ability to transform his body, and that took a lot of energy. Most Oni with their lightening or fire breathing just didn't understand how it was. Even in his normal form his body required the same amount of food as in his tiger-cow form.

Almost as bad as the hunger was the sheer boredom. He hadn't had this much free time in a long while, having been on active duty for months. Now with much of the fleet still undergoing repairs and Uru laying low, there wasn't anything he could do but stay home and be ready in case he was needed.

A soft tapping at the door shook him from his moping. Jumping up, he ran to answer it, hoping that it was who he thought it was. Sure enough a small mechanical Ran doll was standing outside, smiling innocently up at him.

Rei bent down low, hoping Ran hadn't forgotten to deactivate the explosives again.

"Ran-chan would like to invite you to dinner at seven tonight," the doll cheerfully informed him. "She hopes that you will come."

Rei eagerly nodded, grateful that Ran was thinking of him. "Yes," he replied.

The doll smiled and clapped its hands. "Wonderful," it cooed before shutting down.

Rei carefully scooped it up and carried it over to a shelf containing a large number of its brethren. Every once in awhile Ran would come to reclaim a few, but usually his collection was pretty full. They added a welcome bit of color to his otherwise drab apartment. He placed the new arrival in a neat row with the rest, smiling at the identical looks of joy on all of their faces.

Now his only problem was the long wait until dinner.

Ran hummed as she finished getting everything ready. Rei would be arriving any second now, and she wanted their romantic dinner to be perfect. She was just putting the dishes on the table when the doorbell chimed.

"Just a second," she called out, hastily setting out their places at the table. That done, she checked her reflection one last time in the mirror. She noted happily that not a single hair was out of place.

She threw open the door. "Rei-san!" she greeted her visitor. "I'm so glad you came!"

"Ran," he said in greeting.

Used to his one-word replies, Ran merely smiled and pulled him inside. "I'm glad you came," she gushed as she ushered him to a seat. "I've been working so hard to make you a big meal."

Rei smiled and licked his lips. He'd gone out and eaten a bit earlier but was still starved. He looked on greedily as she brought the first course out.

"Don't you dare transform," she scolded, seeing his horns and fangs begin to lengthen. "I don't want you breaking another one of my chairs."

He nodded and tried to calm himself. It wasn't easy to keep from transforming when everything smelled so good, but he could do it if he concentrated hard.

"You're doing good," she encouraged him, seeing his horns and teeth retract. "I'm really proud of you, Rei-san!"

He smiled uneasily. Ran was insisting more and more that he learn to control his power. To his surprise it wasn't for the same reasons as everyone else who wanted him to stay in humanoid form. Most thought he was scary and ugly as a tiger-cow, but she seemed to love him no matter which form he was in. She even appeared to prefer cuddling up to him when he was transformed.

No, her concerns were much more material. When he suddenly transformed he tended to break stuff. Rei knew that Ran took a lot of pride in how her saucer was decorated and furnished, and it took a lot out of her to see him wreck it accidentally. The chair she was referencing had apparently been quite difficult for her to replace. He was surprised that she still had enough faith to let him sit at the table.

Rei sat relatively calmly as she dished out his portion. He started greedily reaching for it, but Ran slapped his hands away.

"Use your chopsticks," she told him irritably.

He nodded, picked them up, and clumsily started eating. Chopsticks were not something he often had patience for, though he was able to do it when needed.

"Thank you," she told him as she started delicately in on her own meal. She knew from experience that it was impossible to get in a romantic mood if Rei was being a slob and gobbling down everything. One of her ongoing goals was to shape him into being a respectable and polite guy on his own.

"How is it?" she asked after a few minutes.

Rei glanced up. "Good," he answered before continuing to eat.

Ran smiled. "I'm glad you like it," she replied sweetly. "I worked really hard to make your favorites."

He smiled back between bites. The food really was good, though he was eating too fast to really savor the taste. Ran had always been a good cook, but in her recent campaign to win him over she had been constantly trying new recipes and ideas.

The contents of his plate quickly dwindled to naught. Noticing that his plate was empty, Ran hastened to refill it. It was a bit embarrassing that she was still just starting her own serving, but he couldn't help it.

After dinner Ran noticed that Rei was starting to look drowsy. Taking that as a sign of success, she began clearing the dirty dishes from the table while he retired to the couch. He usually got a bit sleepy when his belly was full.

Getting things put away, Ran returned and sat down close beside him. He smiled at her sleepily and leaned back, looking like he could fall asleep at any moment. She shyly leaned in a bit closer and was surprised to feel him lazily wrap his arm across her shoulders. It was sometimes hard to tell if he truly liked her or just her cooking, but little signs like this were very encouraging.

"Rei-san," she asked timidly, "are you happy?"

"Yes," he affirmed, on the verge of falling asleep. "Food Great," he finally finished.

Ran smiled, but wished he would focus on something other than dinner. "Are you comfortable?" she asked him.

"Warm," he replied, his eyes starting to close.

She idly wondered if he meant the temperature or her. There was no telling now; he wasn't likely to answer when he was this tired. Snuggling up closer, Ran closed her eyes as well, savoring his embrace.

"Ran?" he suddenly said, not bothering to open his eyes.

"Yes, Rei-san?" she prompted eagerly.

"Nice," he murmured.

She snuggled up closer. "What's nice?"

"Ran," he replied quietly. "Warm too."

She blushed, unused to him being so direct. "You're embarrassing me," she whispered back.

His sleepy voice murmured low, "Why so nice?"

She looked closely at him, surprised to hear an almost complete sentence from the abnormally curt boy. "Because I like you, silly," she replied shyly. "You know that I've liked you ever since we first met."

A faint smile returned to his face. "Like you too," he muttered.

Ran's face lit up. "How much do you like me?" she asked eagerly.

Rei didn't reply, having drifted off to sleep.

As Ran cuddled snugly next to the sleeping oni, she fondly thought back to the first time that she had laid eyes on him. It had been a nice sunny day, maybe six or seven years ago. She had been returning from a shopping trip in the capital with Lum when they had passed by the young hunk walking alone through the forest.

They had both been immediately enamoured by his looks, but to her disappointment Rei only seemed to have eyes for Lum. They had stopped and flirted with the quiet boy for a while, thinking he was just shy when he only said a few words in reply. After a few minutes they had to continue on towards home, and it was a couple of years before they saw him again.

The next time they had met him had been much closer to home. Once again she had fallen for his stunning good looks and sparkling eyes. And once again he had seemed a bit more interested in Lum, though he had smiled at them both quite a lot. They had chatted with him for a good while and learned to their surprise that he now lived just a few miles away from them.

Asking around afterwards, she had learned that he was the son of a fighter pilot. They'd had to move around a lot due to this, but things had changed after his father had recently been killed in an accident. Her heart had gone out to the oni boy, and she had been determined to both cheer him up and win his heart.

For three years Ran had showered him with gifts, quickly learning that food was the best way to get his attention. It had seemed like he was starting to favor her over Lum. She had been ecstatic for weeks, though she hadn't told anyone of her hopes.

It had been a crushing blow when Lum had suddenly announced that they were getting engaged. True, Ran hadn't confided her own feelings to her best friend, but she still felt betrayed in the worst way. Lum, lost in her own crush on the boy, didn't even seem to notice the changes that started to manifest in Ran that day.

She had wandered around in total disbelief for days. After all that effort, after all the feelings she had thought Rei was developing for her, Lum had just swooped in and taken it all away without even trying. It was devastating and she still had trouble remembering it without either getting furious or breaking down in tears.

After that she had stopped hanging out with either of them, wallowing in misery by herself. It wasn't long before she noticed that she was starting to develop a nasty temper to match that of her mother. It was a horrifying realization. She hated her mother's bitter attitude towards most people and decided that no matter what she wouldn't be like that.

So Ran had forced herself to be sickeningly sweet to everyone, though she still refused to even speak to her former best friend. Her new gentle temperament gradually became dominant, though she still found her angry side still taking over from time to time.

Her anger had risen to new limits once she had heard that Lum had dumped Rei. And what was worse was that he had left the planet to receive pilot training, not even giving her a chance to have another go at winning his affections herself. She had been furious for weeks, plotting more and more sadistic ways to make Lum's life miserable.

Then Lum had left as well, and to top things off word filtered back that she had found a husband on some far off planet. Seeing her chance for revenge, Ran had packed up and sought out this Earth. What better way to make Lum understand her pain than to ruin her happiness with this new man?

Ran sighed happily as her mind drifted back to the present. In the end she hadn't really been able to get her revenge through Darling, but she had succeeded in driving Lum nuts for a while. Not to mention she had reunited with Rei during that time. It had been trying, but with Lum out of the game Ran had finally managed to turn Rei's attention back in her direction.

Things really hadn't turned out bad, Ran mused, smiling happily at the slumbering oni beside her. She still couldn't actually bring herself to hate her childhood friend, and they were on much better terms than before she had visited Earth. Lum had Darling now, and he was a nice enough guy, if a bit weird. In any case their marriage had appeared to suppress any lingering feelings Rei had.

Ran yawned lazily, the preparations for tonight having worn her out a bit. Laying her head against Rei's chest, she closed her eyes and listened to his slow breathing. He'd probably wake up in a little while, but she was perfectly content to lie there until morning if he didn't. Sleep soon claimed her as well.