Let's continue this insanity, shall we? Love to Kerapal Bubbles, my wonderful Beta Reader! She's the best! *waving pom poms*

Hitomi collapsed on the couch in her yellow uniform and kicked off her shoes. Yukari followed her in and locked the front door. It was well past one in the morning and they both smelled like bacon and fried hash browns.

"Man, today was awful. I've never seen Balgus run out of syrup before," Yukari sighed coming forward to sit on the coffee table. "The restaurant made a ton of money tonight, but God, I don't know if we can handle another night of this. The old man's going to have to go on another supply run and we just got a delivery two days ago. I know we should count our blessings with the restaurant's success, but we're going to need a bigger place and more help if this keeps going."

"It's all because of that stupid video," Hitomi muttered into the itchy fabric of the old couch. "Geez, the entire thing is a pain in the ass. I'm getting problems from the school, too. My tutoring session was less than stellar this afternoon. 'The waitress who got barfed on in the middle of the street'. Not a great title to have when you're teaching high school brats."

"I don't know why you even go there." Her friend shook her auburn hair out of the ponytail and her long locks fell over her shoulders. "It's not worth the time and sleep. The stories you come home with… I'm surprised you haven't gotten attacked at that ghetto school."

"Punks I can handle. I'm more scared of what this world is turning into."

"Alright, superhero, at least sleep in tomorrow morning. I'm worried about your health," Yukari said kindly. "You look exhausted."

Hitomi turned on her back and stared at the ceiling. "I've been exhausted ever since I ran into that Van Fanel guy the other night. He's turned my world all crazy. I don't know how I keep running into him."

Yukari had a small smile on her face. "Literally running into him."

"Ha, ha," she mumbled. "Better rein in that comedy or we'll have another viral video on our hands."

"Oh, such sass tonight." Yukari's smirk turned thoughtful. "I thought you were his fan or something."

"I am. I can like his work and not like him as a person, Yukari."

"Why not like him as a person? He doesn't seem too bad. He actually looks like a nice guy."

Hitomi rolled her eyes. "You like him so much? Why don't you date him?"

Yukari was silent for a brief moment. "Maybe I will. He's cute in that brooding kind of way. I do like that 'Breathing Relief' song from several years ago by the White Dragons. Those lyrics are so inspiring. A soul behind a song like that is worth getting to know."

"Too bad the only time I see him is when I'm about to kill him on accident. He might end up dead before you can even ask him out."

Yukari stood, stretched, and moved to unzip the back of her yellow dress. "Are you going to change out of your uniform?"

Hitomi grinned. "Why? I'm just going to be wearing it tomorrow."

"Lazy-ass," her friend giggled and slapped Hitomi's stomach. "If Balgus yells at you tomorrow for a wrinkled uniform, I'm not defending you."

"Whatever, it's not like the old fart washes his clothes anyway. I swear he sleeps in that apron."

Yukari walked to her room and sighed. "You two are made for each other. Good night, weirdo."

"Goodnight."

"Hitomi!" Yukari's frantic voice punched through her sleeping oblivion. Sitting up from the couch with dazed green eyes, Hitomi stared at her friend uncomprehendingly.

"Whaaaaza?"

"Balgus just called! He needs us!"

"Whaaaa? What time is it?"

"6 o'clock in the morning!"

"Nooooooope." Hitomi rolled over and settled back into her blankets.

Yukari was finishing zipping up her yellow uniform and scooped her disheveled hair into a ponytail. "Get up, Hitomi! We have to go to work! He's getting stampeded with customers! He said it's a mad house and he needs all hands on deck. Oh! But one of us to pick up an extra crate of syrup from Plaktu's Corner."

"Plaktu's Corner?" Hitomi yawned and followed it up with a groan. "Ohhhh, man! Why does it have to be that place?"

"Balgus called everyone he knew and Plaktu was the only one with an entire crate of extra syrup bottles in stock. He paid an hour ago over the phone, so the crate is ours. He just needs someone to go get it-"

"NOT IT!" Hitomi shouted kicking off the blankets. She stood proudly before her friend in a wrinkled uniform.

"What do you mean? I have to take the bus! You have a motorcycle." The redhead pulled on her converses and tied the shoe strings while balancing on one foot. "You're it no matter what."

"Nope. Can't. Plaktu banned me from his store, remember?"

Yukari stopped short with her eyebrows up. "Is that the store where you accidentally knocked over an entire display of red wine?"

"God, who would showcase wine at a rundown place like that?" Hitomi snorted, crossing her arms. "It's too small to begin with. Absolutely no room to even walk down the aisles! And why in the hell would anyone buy wine at a drug store? Yuck!"

"You have the transportation. You get the syrup." Yukari's face fell slightly at Hitomi's scowl. "Please be civil enough to actually get the crate. It's awesome that we are getting so much business, but you know I can't have Balgus close his doors for supplies for even one day. I need the tip money for-"

"Hey, hey, hey," Hitomi grinned and moved around the couch to grab her friend's shoulders. "No worries. I'll take care of it. I'm just giving you a hard time. I've got this, girl! It's me, right? I'll charm the bastard… somehow…"

"My fate is in your hands," Yukari scoffed gently.

Van brushed past a tall guy in a dark hoodie to pick up a large bottle of aspirin and a grimace spread on his lips. With Merle at school – hopefully – and a few hours to spare before he had to meet with Allen, Van stood at the drug store shelf fighting a ridiculous battle with himself. He usually avoided taking pain medication, but his chronic stress headache was beginning to mess with his vision. A small black spot in the corner of his left eye winked at him like an unwanted friend. As much as he'd love to blame Allen or Merle or even that pixie waitress for his pain, Van knew he could only blame himself for this. The entire music thing had been his decision.

He knew he had to swallow his pride and suffer the consequences of his selfish actions. The Pancake Song was a burden he would have to shoulder.

'Let's not forget the potential music video,' he thought with a silent groan.

Rubbing the spotted eye with the palm of his hand, he heard the door to the store open.

"Before you start, I'm here for Balgus. I want the syrup and nothing more, Plaktu," a familiar voice echoed from the doorway. Van's eyes widened and he almost dropped the bottle.

No… it couldn't be…

"I know you,"the counter clerk replied sharply. "You're that hooligan! You aren't allowed in here! You are banned!"

"I'm the only one who can get the syrup. Trust me, I don't want to be here!"

"I refuse to sell syrup to you! I refuse until you pay me for the damages you caused!"

Van stood on tip-toe to glance over the aisle he was standing in and his heart pulsed loudly in his ears. There she was, her green eyes wild and furious. Her short hair was messy and sticking up slightly in the back. Her yellow dress, though wrinkled, hugged her hips as she stomped from the doorway to the clerk's counter.

"I can't help it if you fix up a display right in the middle of the floor!"

"You are a bull in a china closet! It was right next to the window! Right there!" Plaktu pointed to the far corner of his shop. "It was tucked away from the aisles, yet somehow you managed to obliterate-"

"I did not obliterate and it was not in that corner! It was right next to the front door right here!" she pointed several feet behind her. "Anyone could have tripped on that stupid display!"

"Tell Balgus if he does not send someone else, then he will get no syrup!" Plaktu snarled. "I will not work with someone as insolent as you!"

"Balgus already paid for it! You have to give us the crate, Plaktu!"

"I will not sell it to you! I'll give Balgus back his money! Go before you destroy more of my things!"

"I want that syrup! I'm not leaving without it!"

"I want to sell nice wine in my establishment, but you decided to take a running head-start into-"

"NOBODY MOVE!" a voice roared from the right.

With his heart stopped, Van's eyes glanced over to see the black hoodie guy he'd walked past earlier. The pill bottle tightened in his hand. The man pointed a gun right at the clerk. The pixie waitress' eyes were wide. She put her hands in the air and backed away until she pressed against a large metal potato chip rack along the window. Van let out a long deep breath and ducked behind the aisle. He worked his way to the other side of the walkway so that he was behind the robber.

"Give me everything in the drawer!" The young man bellowed as he took a step closer to Plaktu and the waitress. "Put it in a fucking bag! I want all of it!"

"I will! I will! One moment!" Plaktu said in a rush as his entire body shook with fear. His dark hands fiddled with the keys and he dropped them on the floor. Van moved further to the front and peaked around the side. He saw the robber's back and the clerk's panicked face.

Now or never…

"Come on! I'll shoot you! I'll kill you dead, mother-fucker! I swear if you press that button to call the-OOF!"

Van pounced like a lion and tackled the man to the ground. The gun went off with a sharp, ear-piercing BANG and clattered across the floor. Pressing his entire weight on the robber, he grabbed the man's right arm before he could try to escape and wrenched it behind his back. Pressing the pill bottle against the man's shoulder blades, Van panted, "I have a gun and I will shoot you if you don't cooperate."

"Get off me, mother-fucker! Get off!"

"I will shoot you!" Van snarled, struggling against the man's wiggling legs. He glanced at the waitress, whose green eyes were bugging out in shock, and growled, "Help me! Find a rope! Call the police! Something!"

With a quick nod of importance, she took a step forward – and her foot caught on the chip rack behind her.

She screamed as she fell.

The chips came tumbling with her.

A metal grate landed on Van's head and his vision blanketed in a sea of sour cream and onion as the entire display fell forward on top of all three of them. Her knee collided on the robber's head and her arms tossed over Van's shoulders; knocking him completely off the robber's body and onto the cold floor. His head hit the tile with an audible crack and stars winked all over his eyes. Something very soft and warm hit his face hard and smashed his nose painfully. He couldn't breathe. A shrill ringing sound sang in his ears as bags and bags of chips rained down upon them like a baptism of snacks. Many of the chip bags, containing more air than content, burst open with a thunderous POP all over their fallen bodies. Van, his brain pulsating with pain and panic, tried to turn his head to the left and breathe through his mouth, but all he got was a mouthful of fabric and several crisps of sour cream and onion.

Suddenly, the waitress on top of him squealed. Her voice was above his head.

"Ahhh! What the hell are you doing?!"

"Can't… breathe…" he muffled.

"Stop biting! That's-"

"MY STOOOOOORE!" Plaktu roared from somewhere above them. "You she-devil! You cursed witch! You hold the destruction power of the great tsunami! My personal demon come to torment me! Dearest departed Father, please forgive this son for his unfaithfulness!"

"Oh, my God! Call the police, you idiot!" she snapped trying to shift to the right and give him some breathing space. She wasn't going anywhere. They were trapped. "Stop opening and closing your mouth!"

"Get… off…"

"I can't!"

Van raised his arms and pressed them on the crate. It was monstrously heavy. She saw what he was doing and added her strength to his. Pushing with all their might, the waitress was able to shift slightly to the right and his lungs expanded gratefully with air. She was still pressed tightly against his cheek, but at least half his face was free. He had a good minute of breathing before he realized what he was nuzzled against.

"Yeah, that's my boob," she answered his gasp with an irritated sigh. "I told you to stop biting."

"Owww…." the robber trapped at Van's feet moaned. "What the - are these Doritos?"

It was ten terrible minutes before any of them heard a siren from the ambulance and cops. Her thin body pressing painfully into his stomach, Van tried to concentrate on his breathing while they waited. Her uniform smelled like old fried food and a lingering bitter sting of coffee. Surprisingly, it wasn't a bad smell. To be honest, it made Van want pancakes –

No, he thought immediately with a slight blush. No, not pancakes, but maybe French toast.

With her arms trapped behind his back, he wondered if she was in pain. She sure didn't act like she was injured. In fact, since the robber had come to, her verbal lashing was swift and unyielding.

"You are going to jail forever, you jackass!" she snarled at the black hoodie underneath her legs. "I'll make sure you get as much punishment as you deserve! Assault, possession of a weapon, robbery, threaten manslaughter!"

"I'll get you for attempted manslaughter with this fucking chip rack!" the robber snapped back.

"Just try it! I didn't even need the chip rack! This guy had you on the ground before you even realized what happened!" Van blinked at her semi-compliment. "You weren't going anywhere and you know it! You better eat as much of those Doritos as you can reach! You'll be eating something a lot more unpleasant when you're in jail-"

"Vulgar girl…" the voice of Plaktu spat from behind the counter. "You think nothing of the destruction you've caused. I'm adding this on your debt! First my wine, now my chips! What are you going to go after next? My entire store? Going to burn it to the ground?"

"Don't tempt me!"

"Oh, thank God…" Van groaned as several men came in through the clinging door with badges and guns drawn. The men froze together with dropping mouths. Apparently the mess was worse than Van could see.

"About damn time! They're under there!" Plaktu's voice shrieked from behind the counter. "Arrest all three! Especially that hooligan girl! She is a menace to society!"

It took five men to lift the rack, two to dig them out from the enormous amount of chips, and one to subdue Plaktu once the little waitress had finally emerged. Police led the clerk out of the store for a testimony, yet Van could still hear his screaming even from across the street. After being cleared with the paramedic, Van found himself sitting against the window rubbing the back of his sore head and clutching the pill bottle he'd intended to buy. Watching the cursing, crisp-covered robber handcuffed and escorted out of the store, he looked up in surprise as a shadow of a yellow dress fell over him.

"I realized I didn't properly thank you." She murmured quietly, coming over to sit next to him. She wrapped her arms around her knees almost like protection. "That was very brave of you to jump out and tackle him. Balgus will probably fry me in his grease fryer for not getting the syrup on time, but I'm grateful that I will be alive for it. So, thank you. Thank you for saving my life." Her green eyes flickered to him and he swallowed audibly. She looked strangely vulnerable sitting like that and looking at him. She still had bits of sour cream and onion flaked in her short hair.

He broke his gaze and a small smile crossed his lips. "I may have tackled him, but you definitely finished him off. And me too! I'm beginning to wonder how many more times I have to run into you before I finally get knocked into a coma."

She grimaced. "Sorry about… all of that. Sorry about everything really. I know my attitude has been less than civil lately. And it's unlucky that every time we see each other…" she trailed off. "Anyways, how's the head?"

"Better now that I can finally breathe."

The waitress blushed brightly and began to shyly twirl her hair. "I'm really not that destructive all the time. I was perfectly fine until I met you."

Van snorted a laugh that hurt his head. "Yeaaaah, what was that wine story about?"

As he expected, she immediately jumped to defense. "That wasn't my fault! It was right in the middle of the…" she words stumbled to a halt as he started laughing. Looking at him with a quirked eyebrow, she slowly began to smile. Pretty soon she was joining him with giggles of her own.

They sat together on the tile floor laughing till their sides ached.

Entering the store with frowns of confusion, the police had to wait five minutes for them to calm down and tell them they were being called in the station for testimony. "We need to ride in separate cars," she grinned standing up and brushing off the back of her skirt. "If we ride together, who knows what will happen!"

He chuckled and wiped a tear from his eye. "Probably need to give testimonies in different buildings, too. In fact, just call me in tomorrow just to make sure we don't run into each other again!"

Hitomi stepped out of the station and checked her phone with a scowl. Twenty-seven missed calls all from Balgus.

Great.

Rolling her green eyes, she checked her dress pocket and pulled out her card pouch. She'd have to take the bus back to Plaktu's store to get the syrup and THEN get the syrup to the restaurant. Hurrying over to the bus map, she scanned the schedule and groaned.

Another thirty minutes before it shows up. Geez, it'd be faster to walk!

Shaking her head tiredly, she turned around and bumped into a shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she said without looking.

"Hitomi!?" A familiar voice vibrated in her ears and sent shivers of chilled heat down her spine. She froze as her mind began to spin in a panic spiral.

No, she thought frantically. No, no, no, no, it can't be. Please don't let it be-

"It's Amano Susumo, remember? From Cornish University!"

After leaving the station later that day, Van hovered his finger over the doorbell to Allen's apartment. Despite feeling cheerful from his friendly parting with the waitress, his fatigue had finally begun to catch up to him. His muscles were sore, his head was aching, and he had a strange feeling he was fighting a daily battle that he was quickly losing. The problem was: who was the enemy?

Pressing his finger on the button with a sigh, he heard the thundering footsteps of Allen before the man even reached the front door.

"BRAH! What da fiz? You go and be late, n'shit!? We workin' on da single!"

"Got held up," Van murmured. Literally, he added in his head as he pushed the blonde man out of the way and made his way up the stairs to the studio.

"You can't be late like that, brah. I wanted to be realz wicha for a sec. I looked into dat video thing and check it, that guy is mega willin' to sell. There be some condish tho."

Oh, right… Van shook his head tiredly. A music video to go with the most horrific song I could ever think of. Great. A memory of laughing with the pixie waitress made him want to curl into a ball. She really wasn't so bad. Once she heard this song… Oh, God…

"No worries on the conditions, brah," Allen continued taking Van's silence for concern. "Our manager will handle all da deets."

Van's foot slipped on the last step and he stumbled forward to catch himself on the couch. He turned to stare at the blonde man incredulously.

"M-Manager? Allen, when the hell did you get a-"

"From the computerz!" A voice a bit too loud for indoors burst behind Van's head.

Swiveling on toe with a jolt of surprise, his mahogany eyes were assaulted with the color green. The man's shirt, pants, shoes, and even tie were all different violent variations of the color. His black hair was slicked back from his forehead; successfully exposing the craziest looking eyes Van had ever seen.

"I saw it on the flashy screen and I came to the address and I will do anything for you! The name's Gadeth! Bagel Bite?" His new manager said the words in an endless streaming rush while never dropped the eerily crooked grin off his face. He whipped a plate of mini pizza bagels from behind his back and most of them spilled on the floor at Van's feet.

"How embarrassing!" The man giggled before crouching to the floor. He scowled at the microwaved meat pastries while picking them up one by one. "Bagels, you're making me look bad in front of the new guy…"

"I put in the ad for a new manager like an hour ago, brah. Gad showed up ringing the doorbell like two seconds lata! He's gonna chat for the vidz. Meanwhile, there's a tune we gotta flame. Let's burn to da studio, brah." Allen placed a hand on Van's shoulder to push him to the back room.

"I'll dake gud car of do!" Gadeth said through a mouthful of the bagels he'd picked up from the floor. The manager swallowed, choked once, and – as the door closed behind him – Van heard him shout, "He didn't like you, you stupid Bagel Bites! No! NO! I don't like you either! Way less carpet lint next time!"

Guess who's heeeeeerrreeee? How could I NOT put him in? He's the most insane character I have. In a story about insanity, he should have a goooood role. Manager... peeerrrrfect.

I know he's been requested by a few of you, so here you go!

It's only going to get crazier.

blue...