E/N: And once more Midnight provides a contribution! This time it's Sloan Maxwell. And now there's only one outstanding contribution I think...(Kafka? I think you were doing another one, or did you give up on that?)
Disclaimer: I do not own Negima. That is Ken Akamatsu's brain child. The only things I own are my ideas and my OC, Sloan Maxwell, so please don't sue. Valentine's Day is supposed to be all about love and that sort of thing after all, right? Luke Mason is the property of Hydriatus and Hiro Sasuki is the brainchild of Kafka'sdragon, heroes of sorts in Our Time Together and Hiro's Lament respectively.
Operation: Valentine
The Case of the Detective and the Cheerleader
"Sloan! Glad you could make it, buddy!"
The aforementioned male, a redheaded teen wearing a pale brown trench coat and matching fedora adjusts his eyes as he looks for the source of the voice. Not that he doesn't know who the voice belongs to, rather because it is his first time in this new place. Mahora Academy, if Sloan recalls correctly. Add in the fact that the boy had just gone on a redeye flight from Dublin to Japan. A redeye flight that was enjoyed in the confines of a cargo bay…yeah, to say he is disoriented is probably a fairly accurate conclusion. Finally getting his bearings, he sees his acquaintance sitting on a nearby bench to his left. Staggering over, he sits down next to the blonde haired youth.
"So how was your flight? Nice and pleasant, I hope?"
"Not really." Sloan is quick to reply. "Let's just cut the pleasantries, Luke Mason. You say that you have a case for me to solve?"
Being a magic detective, Sloan is usually a little more patient when it comes to most things, especially a new case. But alas, the young man's business has kind of hit the skids as of late, so any money is good money for him. That, plus the whole lack of sleep thing. Something that Luke has seemingly picked up on in his observations.
"Well Mister Cranky, it's a good thing you have a few hours to spare before your job starts." Luke laughs nervously, slapping Sloan on the back before continuing. "After all, I can't have a half effective detective on the job!"
"…What was with the nervous laughing, Luke?" Sloan asks, eyebrow raised in suspicion. "You'd better have the money to pay me for this. I didn't fly halfway around the world just to take in the scenery, you know."
"Oh, come on. Please buy this…" Luke thinks to himself as he feels Sloan burning a hole through him with his gaze. "She's the only one of the three I have to worry about…maybe if I sweeten the pot?"
"Money isn't a problem!" Luke promises, hoping that the detective isn't at his lie detecting best at the moment. "That, plus there might be room for some bonuses in it for you if you do well enough!"
Sloan perks up at the mention of bonuses. Any extra fame and/or fortune is just fine with him. Stretching his arms behind his back and letting out a yawn, the redhead manages to shake the dollar signs out of his eyes and focus back on Luke.
"That's what I like to hear. So what's the job you have for me?"
"Well, to be honest, I'm not the one hiring you." Luke confesses, fidgeting slightly as Sloan's gaze locks on him. "It's a girl I know. She's got an important job for you. As for now, I can take you to a place to crash for a few hours. At least try to get you to be a little more alert."
Sloan sighs in frustration at Luke's statements. Fatigued as he is, the detective is still able to tell that Luke isn't being completely truthful with him from the blonde's voice and body language. Still, if worse comes to worse, Sloan can just consider it to be a vacation of sorts. Considering he made sure it was free airfare, it isn't exactly like he's losing out on any money being here. And who knows? Maybe his jet lag is clouding his judgment and Luke is being completely honest with him. His mind made up, Sloan looks over to Luke and gives him a nod and a tired smile.
"Alright. I'm game. Let's get going, shall we?"
"So, you mind telling us just why you're so happy, Sakurako?"
The mentioned girl, a cheery lass with orangish hair looks over at the girl who asked the question; a slightly less cheery lass with long flowing purple hair. Completing the mini-group is a third girl, short black hair blowing slightly in the afternoon breeze.
"Oh, why the heck not?" The orange haired girl beams. "Misa, Madoka…I got myself a date today! Well…actually Luke got me a date today!"
"Luke!?" Madoka, the black haired girl responds. "Um…isn't he going out with Kaede, though?"
"Yeah." Misa pipes in. "No offense, but for Luke's sake, I'm hoping it isn't him. Kaede's a freaking ninja! Who knows what she'd do to Luke!"
"Well, maybe it's not Luke…" Sakurako puts a finger to her chin in thought before grinning once again. "I got it! Clyde-kun!"
"Hello? He was here with Makie." Madoka points out.
"I thought we decided they were dumb and bonded over bunnies or something…" Misa adds her two cents in. "Besides, after he beat up Yuna's boyfriend, would you really want to hang out with him?"
"Aw, Clyde-kun's a sweetie though!" Sakurako pouts. "I'm sure there was a good explanation!"
"He's American?" Misa retorts, recycling the reason that Howell had given them an hour or so earlier.
"Well then…I got nothing." Sakurako chuckles, waving a note in her hand. "I guess we'll find out in about thirty minutes. At least that's what Luke's note said…"
"Oh my gosh! What if he set you up with a serial killer!?" Misa pipes in, wide eyed and effectively cutting off her friend. "You got to be careful nowadays! You think you know a guy and then bam! Next thing you know, you're turned into stew!"
"Aw, now that wouldn't happen, Misa! Um…at least I don't think it would…"
"But it could! The world is a scary place, Sakurako!"
"Okay, Misa. You don't have to scare her like that!" An irritated Madoka replies, trying to restore some semblance of order. "Besides, you got that whole 'killer who makes his victims into stew' bit from that horror movie we watched last night!"
"Now that you mention it, Madoka…you're right!" Sakurako chuckles nervously, rubbing the back of her neck. "You're busted, Misa!"
"Aw, and I thought you slept through that movie…" The purple haired girl pouts in response. "But anyways, you're supposed to meet this mystery guy here in front of the Ferris Wheel in like a half hour or something, right?"
"Yep! Luke said he'd show up here and ask me to ride on the wheel!" Sakurako grins in excitement, sitting on a nearby bench and kicking her feet up in glee. "It's so mysterious…and romantic!"
"Like I said, serial killer…" Misa mutters to Madoka, getting an elbow to her ribs from the black haired girl in response. "Just throwing it out there…"
Meanwhile, several hundred yards away, we find our unsuspecting detective strolling through the amusement park, looking rather un-detective like. Gone is the fedora, trench coat, suspenders, and tan slacks to be replaced with a simple blue jeans and red and white polo shirt ensemble. It was a better way to fit in, according to Luke anyways.
"Well, I suppose he's right…but with the shirt, I feel like I should be bowling or something instead…" Sloan ponders to himself. "Bowling…do they even have bowling alleys in Japan? I certainly hope so. Got to get a little work in on my hook. Then again, they probably oil the lanes differently too. Do I ease up or crank it further? Maybe if I…"
Alas for the redhead, his thoughts of murdering all of those helpless little pins quickly hit the wayside as he is nearly ran over by a cute pink haired girl, pulling a blonde along with her for the ride. A quick sorry later and the duo quickly disappears into the sea of moving people all about. Shaking his head in frustration, Sloan tries to regain his composure.
"Sorry. Yeah, sure…dang, she was cute!" Sloan mutters under his breath, the smallest of grins finding it's way to his face. "A lot of cute ones around, actually…damnit, Maxwell! Focus! Find the client, do the job, get paid…and then get a honey and hang out here if there's enough time. There we go. Priorities! Now then…Ferris Wheel…where in the heck are you?"
Scanning the horizon, the grin on his face grows as he spots his target. A quick celebratory arm pump later and Sloan is back on the move. Cutting through the crowd like a hot knife through cheap butter, the young detective can see the wheel and it's line. Scanning about the ground, he notes a trio of girls sitting on a bench near the line. Taking a look at his watch, Sloan notes that it is pretty close to the time that Luke had told him. Not exactly sure where to start, the boy opts to ask the trio sitting on the bench about his job. After all, they do seem to be waiting for something. That, and if worse comes to worse and he comes off like a creep, he can easily break out into a quick sprint and meld into the crowd. Exhaling and figuratively keeping his fingers crossed, Sloan approaches the girls.
"Um…hiya! How are you young ladies today?" Sloan speaks, bowing in respect as he does so. "So, yeah…this might sound a little odd, but would one of your names happen to be Sakurako?"
"That'd be me!" The girl in the middle responds cheerfully. "What can I do for you?"
"Well…you wanna maybe ride on the Ferris Wheel with me?"
Pondering the boy's offer for a second, Sakurako raises an eyebrow.
"Did Luke send you?"
"Dork with blonde hair and a tendency to be overly polite?"
"He did send you!" Sakurako gushes, springing off the bench and wrapping the boy in a bone crushing embrace. "Sure thing! Let's go!"
"R…Right…" Sloan manages to wheeze out, breathing not really a thing he is able to do particularly well at the moment. "You wanna maybe…ease up a tad?"
"Oh! Sorry!" The cheerleader blushes, moving her embrace to the boy's left arm. "See, Misa? I told you that he wasn't a serial killer!"
"Serial killer?" Sloan asks in confusion as the orange haired girl drags him to the line. Meanwhile, Madoka and Misa have taken to talking amongst themselves at the whole spectacle.
"Well, he is kind of cute…" Misa is the first to respond. "My man is cuter though…"
"And unemployed." Madoka points out, unable to keep a chuckle from escaping her lips. "You kind of accidentally saw to that one."
"Aw, you're just jealous, little miss bachelorette!" Misa giggles, earning a look of both shock and embarrassment from Madoka. "I know! We'll find you a hot guy! Then we can double date! Triple date if Sakurako and that one guy come back!"
"Hey, wait a minute!" Madoka tries to respond, but it is too late as Misa's arm clasps around her wrist and drags her off the bench in a fraction of a second.
"Don't worry, Madoka! We're going to find you a kick ass hunk!"
"I can find my own dates just fine, you know!"
"So…"
Sloan, rather enjoying taking the scenery in from the Ferris Wheel's gondola turns his head to the right as the blushing girl next to him pokes her index fingers together nervously. Noticing the boy looking at her, Sakurako's blush slightly deepens. Finally, the girl speaks again.
"So what's your name, anyways? I'm Sakurako…but I guess you already knew that."
"Sloan Maxwell." The redheaded youth replies with a smirk. "And it's very nice to meet you…Sakurako-chan?"
"Ooh! A title!" Sakurako giggles. "You sure do speak Japanese rather well, y'know?"
"Ah, it's a hobby." The boy responds, scratching the back of his head. "I'm also learning how to speak French and German."
Impressed thus far with the boy's looks and foreign language prowess, Sakurako nods to herself as she enters the figurative lightning round.
"So where are you from, anyways?"
"Dublin, Ireland."
"How old are you?"
"Fifteen."
"Are you and Luke really good friends?"
"Depends on the day, to be honest."
"Do you think I'm cute?"
"You really do like asking questions, don't you Sakurako?"
"You're blushing! I'll take that as a 'yes.' But why are you squirming about so much?"
"Well, that would probably be because your heel is digging into my foot."
Blinking in response, Sakurako slowly turns her attention down to the bottom of the gondola, noting that in fact her heel is in fact digging into the boy's shoe. Giggling nervously, the girl quickly moves her foot, causing a sigh of relief to leave the boy's mouth.
"You could have said something earlier!" The now embarrassed cheerleader responds. "I mean, blind dates can be tough enough without having to worry about accidentally causing them bodily harm or anything like that!"
"Blind date!? Oh, you have got to be kidding me, Luke!" Sloan slightly grimaces at his thoughts, hoping that the girl sitting in the gondola next to him doesn't notice. "He drags my sorry ass halfway across the world to go on a blind date? Hell, I thought she was just asking me all of these questions as a test or something, not because she has romance on her mind! Calm down though, Maxwell. Don't humiliate yourself in front of this cute girl…this really cute girl. You didn't have anything better to do anyways, and you can always kill Luke later. May as well try to enjoy yourself."
Regaining his composure, he is brought out of his thoughts as Sakurako taps him on the shoulder. Looking to his side, he sees the once cheerful girl now has a look of gloom about her.
"Um…Sloan-kun? You don't really want to be here, do you?" Sakurako sighs. "That look you had on your face kinda gives it away."
"What? Don't be silly!" Sloan laughs nervously as he scratches the back of his head. "Jet lag is getting to me a little bit. Just got here about four hours ago. And to be honest, I was a little taken aback. Luke didn't tell me how cute you are."
"Are you being serious?" Sakurako asks, eyebrow raised in suspicion.
"Of course I am! Irishman's honor!" Sloan replies with a grin on his face. Technically, he was telling the truth, after all. Luke never did say Sakurako was cute. He just told him that she was important to his case.
"Oh…well, in that case…" Sakurako goes from slightly mopey back to overly happy in a split second. "What kind of things do you like?"
"Well…pretty much the same things other teens like. Hanging out with my friends, sports…bowling actually, music. Might be a little dorky, but I can actually play the harmonica."
"Aw, it's not that dorky!" Sakurako responds, giving the redhead a playful punch in the arm in response. "As for me, I'm a cheerleader…"
"Imagine that…" Sloan responds, earning him another punch to the arm. "Hey, as happy as you are, I bet you're pretty dang good at it!"
"Well, thanks! I guess I take that last punch back then." Sakurako grins before continuing. "Anywho, I cheerlead, play lacrosse…and am actually in a band. Dekopin Rocket. Me, the two girls I was with, and another one from our class. Hear of us?"
"Afraid not."
"Ah. Well, one of these days we'll hit it big! Oh, and I also have a couple of kitties too! Cookie and Biscuit!"
"…You named them after types of bread?"
"Hey, I was seven and then ten at the time! I thought they were cute names! And I still think they are, meanie!"
"Hey, now. I was just asking…"
"Yo! Are you kids planning on getting out today, or are you just going to go on and keep holding the ride up for everybody else?"
Naturally, with the voice belonging to neither Sloan nor Sakurako, it causes the duo to break away from their conversation and look for the source. They soon find it; 'it' being the operator of the Ferris Wheel, looking slightly irritated and tapping his foot on the ground to add rather well to that image. Behind him, the two teens can note that several people in the waiting line are sharing in his sentiments. Trying to get the figurative ball rolling, the operator shouts at the duo again.
"If you two want to go make out or something, kindly get out of the gondola and do it someplace else in Magical Land, would you?"
"Oops! Sorry!" Sakurako giggles, grabbing Sloan by the arm before the boy has a chance to offer up a rebuttal. Shrugging his shoulders and offering up a half hearted apology to the irritated Ferris Wheel goers as he is dragged past them, Sloan shrugs his shoulders and decides not to fight the girl. Considering the fact that it took him forever to find the wheel in the first place, it probably would be better if the cheerleader were to take charge of the day's festivities.
"So Sloan-kun, you wanna try to win something?"
Turning his head to look at the girl on his shoulder, the detective gives Sakurako a nod. Why not try to impress her, after all? Looking about the midway that the duo is currently walking through, Sloan grins as he notices a throwing game. Tapping Sakurako on the shoulder to get her attention, the duo make their way to the game, ready and willing to hurl their way to victory. Only one slight problem, though. The game's operator doesn't seem to be anywhere to be found. Shrugging in confusion, Sloan is about ready to move on when he hears something thrashing behind the game. Curiosity getting the better of the two teens, they both walk behind the game to be greeted to the sight of the game operator in question, hanging upside down from a clothesline, mouth taped shut and hands bound behind his back. After exchanging confused looks with Sloan, Sakurako kneels down and takes the tape off of the man's lips, earning a painful scream and a huge gasp for air as her reward.
"Um…are you okay, sir?"
"Girl, are you a blonde or something!? Does it look like I'm alright, you idiot!?"
"Hmm…you know, I always thought I'd look pretty good as a blonde." Sakurako happily replies, chalking the whole 'idiot' comment up to the man's current circumstance. Alas, the man just seems to be a jerk in general, as there is more to unfortunately come, this time with Sloan being the target of the carnie's rage.
"What in the hell are you looking at, you little ass!?"
"Whoa there, watch the language, would you?" Sloan scoffs, pointing over at Sakurako. "There's a lady present after all."
"Don't tell me to watch my damn language, boy!" The incensed carnie hotly retorts. "If you don't like my language, why don't you just go and f…"
Not really needing to hear the man's suggestion for what to do, Sloan quickly puts the piece of duct tape back over the man's mouth. Scratching his head in confusion to the man's circumstance, the best he can come up with is that with his charming personality, he went off and offended the wrong person. Not really caring anymore, Sloan taps the confused looking girl on the shoulder.
"We should probably go find another game…"
"Sloan-kun, was he going to tell you to go…"
"Probably." Sloan is quick to cut the girl off. "But that doesn't sound like something I would enjoy too terribly much…so moving on."
"Right!"
Leaving the muffled curses of the captured carnie behind, the teenage twosome continues their stroll along the midway, finally opting to stop at a shooting game this time around. Walking up to the counter, Sloan puts a couple of coins down on it before picking up one of the pop gun rifles.
"Alright, let's do this thing, shall we?" The redhead says as the grin on his face grows wider and wider. After a few seconds of silence, the grin slowly leaves Sloan's face as he lowers the rifle, annoyed as he notices the money he placed on the counter is still there. Looking to the operator of the game, Sloan's eyebrow arches as he notices the guy running the game is just blankly staring at him with a look of gloom about him. Confused as all heck, Sloan sets the air rifle down on the counter and looks at the man.
"Um…you okay there, buddy?"
"Fine…just fine…" The man responds, seemingly not being all there. "Just go ahead and take a prize…black haired girl with albino boy…best shooting ever. How was it possible? I rigged this game perfectly…"
"…Ookay…" Sloan replies, grabbing a large stuffed cat that looks very similar to Garfield from behind the counter, sheepishly grinning as he hands it over to a just as confused looking Sakurako. "Uh…I won this for you, I guess….sort of."
"Well, thank you, Sloan-kun…I think." A just as confused Sakurako responds, hugging her newfound 'prize' to her chest. "And thank you, Yuna, I suppose…only black haired girl hanging out with an albino boy that I know of."
"Yuna?"
"A friend from my homeroom." Sakurako replies. "We've known each other forever…though we don't hang out like we used to."
"Ah." Sloan nods his head, before a rumbling in his stomach causes him to change the conversation.
"Say kiddo, you wanna go grab something to eat?"
"Sure thing, Sloan-kun! I know this great place…"
"You know this great place, huh?"
Sloan can't help but let a chuckle escape his lips as the cheerleader's hyping of the place in question was slightly overrated. A McDonalds on campus isn't exactly what one would consider a 'great place' as far as dining is concerned, but hey, a Big Mac, fries, and a root beer aren't going to argue with the teen's appetite. Sighing contently as he takes a sip from his root beer, the detective continues to walk the campus with Sakurako.
"Yeah…sorry about that, Sloan-kun." The girl chuckles nervously before continuing. "With it being Valentine's Day and all, the good places were all booked up. Plus, to tell the truth…I haven't been on that many dates."
"What? A pretty girl like you hasn't been on many dates?" Sloan asks, honestly shocked. "And why in the heck is that?"
"Well, don't get me wrong. I get plenty of chances being a cheerleader and all…but most of the guys that ask me are creeps. Really creepy, like you are."
"Um…sorry?" The redhead responds in shock, obviously taken aback. "It was the harmonica bit on the Ferris Wheel, wasn't it?"
"Ha! Gotcha, Sloan-kun!" Sakurako giggles as she gives the boy a hug. "If I thought you were a creep, I would have gotten the heck out of this date hours ago! I'm having a great time!"
"Well…glad to hear, Sakurako." Sloan replies, blushing quite heavily due to the girl's embrace. "So, what's next on the to do list then?"
"Well…" Sakurako starts to speak, quickly trailing off as her ears perk up. Looking at the girl quizzically, Sloan isn't able to get any words out before the cheerleader grabs his arm and drags him off. As the duo continues their little trip, Sloan's ears perk up as well as he hears the sounds of musical instruments and somebody singing in English. Rounding the corner, the duo are greeted to a lavish celebration. Well, as lavish as a street dance can be, anyways. A round of applause later and the band finds themselves taking a quick break. Turning to his date, Sloan raises an amused eyebrow.
"Sakurako, how the heck did you hear that?" The detective asks, quite impressed that the mundane was able to hear something like the distant music before the mage detective could.
"Like I said, I'm in a band, silly." Sakurako beams proudly. "I hope I can at least pick up on the sound of another one playing."
"Fair enough." Sloan concedes, looking up at the stage to see a black haired man holding a bass guitar high fiving a blonde male holding a microphone. The same blonde that he had seen earlier with the cute pink haired lass, who is at this point applauding wildly in front of the stage.
"I didn't know Clyde-kun and Barry-san were in a band!" Sakurako gushes, swinging Sloan's right arm excitedly. "I think I even understood half the words he sung! Madoka's the real Western music freak. She'd probably know em all!"
"…Clyde? Barry? Madoka?" Sloan asks in natural confusion. Not exactly like he knows any of these people, after all.
"Friend, janitor, best friend." Sakurako haphazardly responds as she scans the crowd for anybody else she might know. Eyes lighting up, she sprints across the square with the redhead in tow towards a pair of blondes enjoying the festivities. Tapping the blonde female on the shoulder, the cheerleader is greeted with a smile.
"Sakurako-san? Nice to see you." The blonde girl responds, looking over at Sloan. "And who might this be?"
"Sloan Maxwell, my date!" Sakurako proudly exclaims, squeezing Sloan's hand slightly tighter at the last word. "So how about you, Ayaka?"
"Oh, well you know…" Ayaka responds, blushing. "Me and Hiro here patched things up."
"Awesome!" Sakurako replies as she gives a thumbs up in approval. "You gotta tell me everything!"
"Um…sure…" A still blushing Ayaka responds. "Hiro, could you please excuse me for a minute."
"Certainly, Ayaka." The blonde male replies, grinning at Sloan while he does so. "I'll be happy to keep this guy company for a few minutes."
Nodding at the two girls as they wander off to have their girl talk, Hiro turns his attention back towards Sloan, the smile on his face evaporating into a stern look. After staring the detective down for a few moments, Hiro finally speaks.
"Maxwell."
"Sasuki." Sloan responds, his face equally as stern. "So, anybody in particular that you are planning on murdering tonight?"
"Can't say that I'm planning on it, no." Hiro replies, a very faint smile appearing on his face. "Unless you want to start something, of course."
"Please. Don't try to threaten me, assassin." Sloan smirks back, scanning over the young man's body for a few seconds. "Unless you're hiding a weapon someplace really uncomfortable, I'd have to say that you aren't packing tonight."
"And neither are you, detective."
"So then, what are you doing here? Waiting to carry out a hit in a couple of days or so?"
"Nope." Hiro replies to the boy. "Just what it looks like. I'm here on a date with the most amazing woman. My intentions are purely innocent."
"Just like they were in the MacDougall case?"
"Hey, contract killing or not, the man was scum. He deserved to die."
Gritting his teeth in frustration, Sloan is quick to fire back, being sure to keep his voice down so as to avoid any unnecessary attention.
"Yeah, that may be the case, but taking him in by the book would work just as well. He was done for long before you decided to pull the trigger."
"Like I said, he deserved it. And it made my wallet happier. You didn't have to worry about him putting up a fight, everybody wins. The past is the past."
"Fine, fine." Sloan replies in frustrated defeat. "For Sakurako's sake, I'll co-exist with you. Nothing to fear from me as long as you don't pull anything."
"Likewise." Hiro coolly responds, glancing over at the pair's dates still talking up a storm. "Sakurako, huh? Cute girl."
"Yeah, isn't she?" Sloan replies, a smile forming on his face. "…Ayaka, wasn't it? She's real pretty too. How did you two wind up together?"
"It's…a long story." Hiro replies, obviously not too keen on getting into the details. Boy meets girl, boy is supposed to kill girl, boy falls in love with girl, boy nearly gets killed over girl…yeah, nothing that the detective needs to know. Especially when trying to keep the fragile truce between them intact. A few minutes later, the two lovely ladies return much to the relief of the assassin and detective.
"So you two miss us?" Sakurako asks sweetly. "Glad to see you didn't run off with some other cute girl while I was gone."
"Eh, running isn't my style." Sloan responds, slightly blushing again for probably the umpteenth time today. "Ma'am, Hiro, hope you two have a good night."
"You too, Sloan." Hiro nods to the boy in response as him and Ayaka take their leave. Standing in the middle of the square with people dancing all around them, Sloan tries to work up his courage to ask his date to follow suit.
"So…"
"Wanna dance?" Sakurako cuts the redhead off at the pass. "It's a slow song, after all."
Nodding nervously, Sloan takes her hand in his and wraps an arm around her waist. Swaying back and forth slowly with the rhythm, the duo manages to block out everything else except for each other. Not even the pair nearest them accidentally crashing into them can take their eyes off of each other. As the music dies down, the two are left looking into each other's eyes. Finally, after what seems like an eternity, the cheerleader speaks.
"Well…it is getting late…I guess I should be getting back."
"Yeah…" Sloan replies, a hint of sadness in his voice. "I hope that for being a blind date, it wasn't too bad for y…"
Apparently, it wasn't bad for the girl at all, as Sakurako has cut Sloan off from finishing his sentence quite expertly by giving him a quick peck on the lips. Eyes wide in shock at the girl's actions, all Sakurako can do is giggle at the boy's flustered looks.
"I had a great time…thanks, Sloan-kun. You…gonna be around for awhile?"
"Yeah…for a few days, anyways." Sloan replies. "Luke isn't going to mind me crashing with him, I don't think."
"Awesome! Here's my cell number, so…give me a ring, if you want." Sakurako blushes. "Good night, Sloan-kun."
"Good night, Sakurako…" Sloan answers back, chuckling nervously as he waves goodbye to the girl. The date officially over, Sloan takes his leave from the square, looking down at the girl's phone number in his hand. Now grinning, Sloan has a final thought as he walks off into the night.
"Well, I guess I won't kill Luke anymore. Maybe a light beating, but as a thank you for tonight, nothing too severe…"
