Shantae groaned as she woke up, her back stiff and sore. She would rather sleep naked than in her day outfit with the golden attachments preventing her from moving around. She couldn't have done that if she wanted though; Risky was beside her.

Risky was beside her?

Recovering from her mini heart-attack, Shantae replayed the events before she fell asleep. She knew Risky wasn't a threat… at the moment. She stared at the sleeping pirate, who was propped up against the bedhead in a seated position. Was that really how she slept? Surely not. Maybe that was why she was in a terrible mood every day; a bad back from sleep-sitting.

Habitually, Shantae began to close her own eyes. 'Just five minutes more…'

"You're awake."

Shantae nearly jumped out of her skin at the voice of the pirate. Recovering from her second mini heart-attack (twice in a minute, new record!), she glanced again at the woman next to her. Risky's eyes will still closed, but she now sported a smirk on her face.

"Wha… how?" Shantae tiredly murmured. Mornings weren't really that nice to her, hence why she slept in till noon half the time.

"Your breathing is different when you're awake compared to when you're asleep. That, and the snoring fit for a bear stopped," Risky teased, opening one eye to see the genie's reaction.

Shantae sat up and glared at Risky, her long hair flowing behind her.

"I do not snore like a bear," she retorted.

"You're right, more like a lion."

"Hey!"

Risky giggled at the pouting girl across from her, reaching for another pillow to put behind her.

"I'm just joking, darling," she said, flashing a grin. "You're quite adorable when you're asleep."

Shantae's change from annoyed to embarrassed was quick, her stuttering and sudden shyness causing the pirate to laugh even more. Shantae's face was as red as the rising sun, and Risky found the whole ordeal cute, much to her inner denial.

"Th-that totally isn't creepy, R-Risky," Shantae mumbled, still fighting the urge to cover herself with the blanket out of pure embarrassment. She had to stay strong in front of Risky; any weakness could and would be noted by the pirate. Trying to find something else to keep her occupied before she said something that would give the pirate an opening for anything, Shantae quickly grabbed her armbands and her hair clasp, readying herself for the interesting day ahead.

"Aw. I quite like it when you have your hair out," Risky commented, watching Shantae fix up her trademark, yet deadly hairstyle."

"I could say the same thing about you, Risky. Oh, you wouldn't happen to have a brush I could borrow by any chance, would you?"

"Maybe I should keep it out a bit more just for you, then," Risky said as she stood up to find a brush in one of her drawers. Shantae didn't respond, finding it awkward that Risky was flirting with her so openly. It wasn't friendliness, it had to be flirting. Right? 'You're hoping for too much again.'

Risky was also having trouble with her own actions. 'Why the hell are you interested in her? She's your number one enemy!' Shaking her head, Risky finally found her brush and made her way back to Shantae, who she found sitting at the edge of the bed, seeming like she had lost her courage.

"Here," she said, handing the brush to the genie. Shantae limply grabbed onto it, holding it in her lap.

"Are you not going to use it? You look like a nightmare. Not saying you weren't one already, but you get the drift," Risky teased again, but got no response from the younger girl. "Shantae?"

"I'm not comfortable with this, Risky," Shantae said. She began to brush her hair instinctively, distracting herself with the rhythmic movements. Risky eyed her suspiciously, anger rising within her. She was trying hard to be nice to her, and she wasn't comfortable with it!? Perhaps she was being a little bit too forward, but it was still something, was it not?

"I mean, we're enemies, so we shouldn't be so… nice to each other. And your flirting is really –ack!" Shantae got cut off mid-sentence as Risky pounced on her, grabbing her neck and pinning the genie to the bed. "What the hell, Risky – Risky, let – ack – let me breathe! Let me go!" The younger girl thrashed around on the bed, hitting Risky to try and dislodge herself from the tightening grip.

"I'm trying my hardest to be nice to you, but all of a sudden you're 'uncomfortable!?'" Risky screamed back, her anger fully taking control of her reasoning. "Do you not remember that you came here first? It's fine for you to blatantly flirt with me but when I reciprocate, you back out? If all my actions were going to be a waste of time, I should've killed you the moment you got here!"

Shantae, remembering Risky's tantrum earlier, scratched the pirate's scabbed knuckles, causing her to cry out in pain and loosen her grip. Also managing to stun Risky for a moment with this, Shantae used the opportunity to kick the pirate in the stomach and roll her off of her, and then off the bed. She gasped for air, crawling to the side of the bed opposite where Risky fell off.

"I… I don't know…" the genie panted, taking deep breaths. Risky's glaring face popped up at the opposite side, though sporting a slightly confused look.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Risky asked, propping her head up with her hands. Her knuckles were stinging, her stomach hurt, and she was trying not to snap again, in case she really hurt Shantae this time. 'Why do you care if you hurt her?! She's your enemy you fool! She swallowed, ignoring the voice in her head as best as she could.

"We're enemies… we shouldn't like each other this way…"

"Speak for yourself, runt."

"Don't pretend you weren't flirting with me before. I'm not as naïve as you think," Shantae quipped back.

"I beg to differ," Risky replied with a smirk, receiving a glare from the girl across the bed.

"As I was saying; we're enemies, we shouldn't like each other this way, and I'm chasing after a dream that will never happen," Shantae concluded, gazing down with a sigh. Risky watched her for a moment, knowing that the whole truth wasn't there.

"Except?" the pirate urged on. Shantae looked up, confused.

"'Except' what?"

"You wouldn't have tracked me down if you didn't actually like me. You're not telling me the whole truth, and trust me darling, I know when people are lying or not," Risky said. "So, if you're adamant that this is wrong and that it will never worked out, why did you come?" the pirate asked. "Why do you persist to blatantly flirt with someone who has tried to kill you multiple times?"

The genie stared at Risky for what felt like minutes, before turning away, fixing her gaze on a particularly large ruby.

"Because that's not who you are. I've seen the real Risky, back on the Tinkertub, when we were against your master. The Risky that I want to see again. The Risky that I… um…" Shantae could not bring herself to say the 'L' word in this moment. It was too much for her at once, and she was angrily fighting herself within her mind. How did she think this would even turn out well at all? She would've died if Risky hadn't had a merciful moment. Shantae's train of thought was interrupted by the howling laughter of the pirate, who had collapsed onto the floor in a fit.

"Do you actually think that for one second, I would actually like you back? You're nothing but an annoying pest! You had found the real me? This is the real me!" Risky laughed more, her words not quite stinging the genie as much as she would've liked.

"But – you – wait, what? You were literally flirting with me for the past day. I'm not stupid."

"Yes you are! What makes you think I was serious? Ever cross your mind that I've been faking it?"

"I can tell when you fake something," Shantae mumbled, not wanting to believe what she was hearing. She held her hair in a deathly grip, suddenly taking an interest in what Rottytops could possibly be doing at this moment.

"Judging by your track record when facing me, I doubt that," the pirate retorted, reducing herself to giggles. "Tell you what, brat. You've entertained me enough that I'll let you go free. Well, as soon as you give the brush back," Risky grinned, extending her hand for the brush that was still half-stuck in Shantae's hair.

The genie pulled the brush out, avoiding any eye contact with Risky. Quickly taking care of any out-of-place areas, she walked around the bed, cautiously placing the brush in Risky's hand. Risky pulled her hand away, expecting the heroine across from her to bolt. She was surprised when she just stood there, staring just past Risky's head.

"Well? Are you going? Or do you actually want me to kill you. That can be arranged easily, I'll just need you to sign on the dotted line," the taller woman joked, placing her hands on her hips. Her smirk died off when Shantae suddenly lunged forward and held her in a crushing hug, causing her to stumble back a little bit. "Wha- get off!"

Shantae let go of Risky, letting the pirate breathe, now keeping direct eye contact as she slowly backed away to the port. Risky stuck to her word and made no movement to attack, though she seemed visibly conflicted about something. Shantae smiled inwardly. '"Don't like you," yeah right.' She made a small wave, before performing a mermaid dance and back-flipping into the water, as silently as she had entered the day before.

Risky stood there, eyeing the ripples left behind. She was indeed conflicted. That hug, though crushing, was kind of… nice. Now it was Risky's turn to sigh. Maybe she did like the genie. 'What do you mean? Of course you don't. She's right. You're enemies, and this shouldn't happen. Remember how many times she has denied you what is rightfully yours?' She shook her head, storming over to her desk in a new-found bad mood. She immediately began writing new plans, plotting revenge on Shantae. This is what she deserves, for wasting her time and energy, and of course stopping her every time. Risky was going all out to teach the brat a lesson – there would be no mercy this time.

But, as Risky continued to plan, her thoughts returned to the moment Shantae threw her arms around the pirate. Being held in someone else's embrace was something Risky could easily get used to, if it were the right person.

And not so crushing.

Swimming away, Shantae smiled to herself. Yes, the progress she had made had been lost. Risky had closed herself off from the genie again, taunted her, and would probably try to attack the town again.

But, she had noticed the inner conflict written all over Risky's face. The pirate could say whatever she wanted – there was definitely an interest there, and for Shantae, that was enough to make the knockout, the pain, the embarrassing falter, and the rejection all worth it. Yes, she would probably dwell on how she could've handled the situation much better later (or whine endlessly to Rottytops about it), like continue flirting back, or not clamming up at the worst time possible, but the genie knew that Risky would come back for her one way or another.

After all, what's a pirate captain without a hat?


HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN?

HARD TO SAY!

IT'S ME, TOMMYCATS

AND I'M SORR(A)Y.

Well, it was certainly a long time. Year 12 is a nightmare, but that isn't an excuse for my lack of activity. Please forgive me!

But, school will be done forever in a month! The excitement!

About this chapter, where do I begin. I rewrote it about six times, and I'm on the fence with the current result, but I didn't want to leave you lads (and lass') hanging for too long. It doesn't help that I had eight different directions I could've taken this chapter. You can probably tell where I changed a few sections multiple times.

As for the next chapter - no idea, sorry. Definitely after my exams are over, but that's still two months away. (November 19th to be exact.) But, hey, that's not a definite. A new chapter may very well come out before then. I should also probably finish the DLC modes and begin the Jammies mode.

As usual, criticism would be great and feel free to notify me of any errors or typos in the chapter.

Anyway, I have a project due on Monday and it's 86.5% complete. Until next time!

- Tommycats

*procrastinating intensifies*