Author's Notes: Well, for now, this is my last post. I still have to salvage what's left of my fanfics --;; Hope you like the ones I was able to post for now, at least. (",)

This chapter is dedicated to Yzak Lover Extrodinaire-san. (As I have already mentioned in the previous chapter. :D)

"Hey." Yzak started.

"Yes, Yzak?" Rei replied happily.

"STOP STICKING YOUR HEAD OUT OF THE CAR!"

"Aww, c'mon!"

"I mean it!"

"Heh… Hothead." Rei sat 'more properly' and snickered. "No wonder you don't have a girlfriend. Hahahahahaah!"

"Why you! THAT'S IT!" Yzak suddenly swerved the car to the left at an intersection.

"Hey? Where are you going?"

"Just sit back and wait." He ordered.

"Heh. Who died and made you king of the road?"

"REI!"

"Alright, alright!" She smiled secretly. Teasing him really makes her day.

Yzak drove them to what looked like a downtown area. He parked his car at the side of the road and faced Rei.

"Okay, let's go."

"Huh…? Go where?"

"I'll take you site seeing ON FOOT. After that, I'm taking you home so you can change your dress."

"REALLY? SITE SEEING! WHERE! COULD YOU BRING ME TO-" She suddenly stopped talking and narrowed her eyes.

"Wait a minute… Did you just say 'change your dress'…?"

"Yes."

"What are you talking about?"

"It means exactly what it means."

"Why do I have to change? They all look the same-"

"CAN'T YOU FIGURE IT OUT BY NOW! I bought some for you!"

"…Why?"

"'Why'? What do you mean 'why'?"

"It means exactly what it means."

"Don't get smart with me!"

She snorted. "What did you buy a dress for? I have everything I need."

He took a while before he replied. "Your… father… asked…"

He didn't really ask Yzak EXPLICITLY to buy her a dress. What he told him was…

FLASHBACK

"Now, Yzak… I can call you Yzak now, can't I?"

"Uh… S-sure… Sir."

"GOOD. Just a few questions before I go into my…" His voice lowered into a growl. "…'conditions'."

'Is he deliberately trying to intimidate me…?' "A-alright, sir." 'Because it's WORKING…!'

"Simply answer 'yes' or 'no'."

Yzak nodded.

"Do you smoke?"

"No."

"Do you drink?"

"No."

After a HUNDRED questions…

Yzak was getting fed up answering all of the stupid questions. Can't Mr. Rosenberg see that he doesn't have any addictions or vices?

"Do you like girls?" Was the next question.

"No." Was Yzak's automatic reply. He was no longer listening.

"NO?"

"Huh?"

"So you like GUYS!"

"O-Of course not!"

"So you don't like girls nor guys. Then what? WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE, Yzak?"

'Did he just get me into a PINCH! WHAT SHOULD I SAY?' "I'm not talking about… PREFERENCES sir." He reasoned.

Robien narrowed his eyes. "Then what were you talking about?"

"Um… I don't care what gender it is. I'll treat anybody fair and square."

"Hm… REALLY?"

"Uh…" 'Did I say the wrong thing…?' "Sure… Y-yes, sir."

Silence.

"Good." Robien replied. "Very good."

Yzak's heart leapt with pleasure. Mr. Rosenberg's approval seems to mean a lot to him. He wasn't sure why though.

"Alright, Yzak. You seem to pass. You'll be able to handle my daughter."

"Huh? Handle her…? What do you mean, sir?"

"You'll see." Robien replied.

Yzak blinked several times, trying to digest what he just said.

"Before anything else, where do you intend to let my daughter stay?"

"Um…" He searched his head again. "Our house…?"

"WHAT?"

"D-don't worry sir…!"

"Why shouldn't I!"

"It's the safest p-place. My family can be with her all the time." 'Why did I even say our house…? Idiot!'

Robien rubbed his chin. "Hm… You do have a point there… I can't leave my daughter alone in some hotel room… She would only cause havoc there because of her practical jokes…" He sounded like he is talking more to himself.

"Practical jokes…?"

Silence.

"Alright then. I guess I don't have much choice. But send me details of your house, alright?" He gave Yzak a glare.

"A-alright, sir!"

"Now, for the conditions."

"Uh… Y-yes, sir?"

"If you're going out with my daughter, I suggest you wear comfortable shoes."

"…What…?"

"Oh you'll see."

"Huh…?"

"What are you doing, boy? You better write these down!"

Yzak jumped, hitting his knees on the bottom of the table. "Y-YES SIR!" He quickly fumbled for a pen and paper.

"Now, if you're going to take her out, I DEMAND that you be a gentleman. If I EVEN find out that you did ANYTHING to cross the line, I will personally go over there and… well… let's just say you're going to be in a LOT of pain. Do you get the picture, Yzak?"

He gulped. "Y-yes sir." 'W-what IS THIS? What is he talking about!'

"Good. I would recommend a curfew for the two of you. I hope 9 P. M. will suffice."

"9 P. M.?" He protested before he could stop himself. He couldn't look at the screen… he was too afraid he'd see Robien's angry face.

"What? Too EARLY for you?" Robien asked incredulously.

He shook his head profusely. "N-no! Of course not, sir!"

'I'm in SOOO MUCH TROUBLE now!'

"…I guess I can't blame you… My daughter is fun to be with, huh?" He laughed heartily.

'Yeah…' Yzak could feel himself blushing.

His pen stopped in mid-air.

He gave himself a mental slap. Did he just BLUSH!

"Well? Why aren't you replying? YOU DON'T FIND MY DAUGHTER FUN TO BE WITH!" Robien demanded.

"U-uh…" He choked out. "O-of c-course, sir!"

"Of course WHAT?"

"O-of course I do, SIR!"

"Well, YOU BETTER! Or else I won't let her go there!"

"I-I do sir! Don't worry, SIR!"

"Now, back to my conditions. I also request you stay with her at all times. EXCEPT AT NIGHT, OF COURSE! She has a tendency to wander off towards anything that catches her interest, so I suggest you watch her all the time. EXCEPT AT NIGHT, OF COURSE! I CAN'T EMPHASIZE THIS ENOUGH. You DO know why, OF COURSE."

"O-Of course sir! I have no intention of watching her or staying with her at night!"

"You better not." Robien warned in a menacing tone.

'Mr. Rosenberg sure can be scary… But what is he talking about? I'm not even dating Rei!'

"Now, Yzak. I suggest you do something nice for her when she arrives. That is one of my conditions."

'That's it? That's easy enough.' "S-sure, sir."

"Then what do you have in mind?"

'Huh?' Yzak's head snapped up from taking notes. "What do you mean sir?"

"What do you have PLANNED?"

"I…" He searched his head, but it just came out BLANK.

"Hm… I'll let this go FOR NOW, since I've only just told you. But you better do something nice OR ELSE! It's like a BASIC RULE when you're going out with someone, don't you know that!"

"I-I…" 'WWHHAAAATT! What is he talking about!'

"You know, you CAN give her something when she arrives."

"R-right…"

Robien shook his head. "Men nowadays…" He slammed his fist on the table. "Well, anyway, back to business. If you want to get to my daughter's good side, I suggest you bring her to a place that is special to you. You might not believe me but she will appreciate it tremendously-"

'I know that all too well already.' "Oh I believe you, sir. Don't worry."

He raised an eyebrow. "Hm… You're smiling..."

Yzak blinked. "I-I was…?"

"Hm…" Robien looked lost in thought.

'What? What? WHAT?' Yzak thought nervously. 'Did I do anything WRONG?'

"Have you written all of those DOWN!"

"Uh…" He snapped back to reality. "Not everything yet, sir."

"Hurry up, then. I have lots more to say."

"Y-yes, SIR!"

END OF FLASHBACK

''Give her something'… That's what he said. I couldn't think of anything else that I wanted to give her…' He hoped she would just buy this little white lie and leave the issue alone.

Rei frowned. "Really…? That's strange."

'Uh-oh… I should have known she wouldn't.' "W-why would it be strange?"

"He likes this dress. And he'd already given up on getting me a new one a long time ago. Are you sure…? Maybe you just misunderstood-"

"ALRIGHT! He didn't say anything about a dress! I just decided this on my own!"

She raised her eyebrows. "Really? You lied?"

Yzak almost wanted to tear off his scalp. He only ended up messing up his hair, though. "I-I TRIED! BUT I FAILED! OBVIOUSLY!" 'WHY can't I even tell a simple lie to her! This is SO FRUSTRATING! Why did I EVEN do this? Now she'll just keep teasing me about it! ARGH!'

She laughed for a while and then fell silent. He couldn't look up at her. He is so SURE she is smirking at him right now.

"It's alright. You told the truth anyway."

"Huh?" He looked up so quickly his head ached. She's not going to tease him?

Has the sky finally opened? The angels come down?

Has Judgment Day finally come?

'It's a… MIRACLE…!'

She merely smiled at him. "Don't worry about it. Well? Why did you then?"

"I… I… I…"

"Yes?"

"Well…"

"What is it?"

"Because…"

"Because what?"

"JUST BECAUSE…!"

She laughed again.

"Why are you laughing!"

"Because."

"What?"

"Just because." She smirked at him.

"Aaarrgh! Stop throwing my lines back at me and JUST TELL ME!"

"You first."

"I… I just wanted to, alright!"

"Oh?"

"LOOK! There's no way you're seeing my mother dressed the same way she met you before, alright!"

"Why not…?"

"BECAUSE!"

"Because what…?"

Silence.

'Why? WHY? WWHHYYY! I DON'T KNOW!'

Then he got an idea.

"It would be WEIRD, first of all." He reasoned.

"It could just be COINCIDENCE."

"And it would be 'coincidence' the next day that you guys will see each other? And the day after that? AND THE DAY AFTER—"

"Okay, I get your point. Geez…"

"Good. I know you'll see it my way." 'Phew… It actually worked…'

"Heh. Not really."

"Don't start!"

"Look, can't I just tell her the truth?"

"Now YOU listen to ME, YOUNG LADY. Whether she finds out the truth or not, SHE'LL buy the dresses for you, and she'll probably buy A LOT. AND there will be a greater chance of you not being able to get what you like. So you might as well stick with what I bought you. I think I know your taste well enough."

She looked at him while considering her options. He waited impatiently and started tapping on his watch.

"Hurry up."

She gave a dismissive shrug. "I guess yours will do."

"Gee. You didn't have to be so excited about it."

"Heh. I just hope you didn't buy a really expensive one."

"Now it's your turn."

"On what?"

"To tell me what you were laughing about!"

She chuckled. "Nothing much. It just struck me on how you can get so frustrated and embarrassed all at the same time. It was cute."

"I thought you only bought ONE!"

"I didn't say anything about buying only one dress." Yzak replied smartly. He was standing on the hallway outside Rei's bedroom door. They have just arrived in the Joule's residence after they had that TORTURE TOUR. Torture for him, at least. His feet are killing him. But she had that really excited look on her face that made him forget about his newfound hatred (it was only dislike before) for walking everytime he saw it. Seeing the Plants through her eyes made him appreciate his home even more.

"But… But…"

"It's not a big deal."

"But… They must have been expensive!"

"C'mon, don't worry about it."

"Take them back."

"What?"

"Take them back. There are too many."

"I only bought five." There are five boxes piled on top of each other on the bed.

"That IS TOO much already."

'Is she serious…?' He thought incredulously.

"I'm serious. Please take them back."

That answered his question.

"Rei. It's okay."

"But-"

"No buts. Just put one of them on. Or else we'll be late for dinner."

Rei opened her mouth to protest, but Yzak put on his I'm-serious-you-can't-win-against-me-today-face.

'Why is he doing all of this?' She saw how he didn't like walking that much when he was already scowling after just a few minutes of touring her on foot. But when he noticed that she was looking at him the scowl disappeared faster than the speed of light.

And now… Now he bought her all of these… She doesn't understand it at all. The dresses were not NECESSARY.

NONE OF THESE was necessary.

She tried one last attempt. "Hey, ever heard of those killer dresses? Those that have chemicals in them that are poisonous and seep through the skin-"

"Don't you even DARE try to start. I already had the dresses cleaned." He declared as he started to close her bedroom door.

"I should've known he'd already covered all of his bases." She muttered.

He heard her. "That's right. So you better stop trying to wriggle yourself out of it, or else I'LL change you into another dress MYSELF."

Silence.

Yzak stopped midway on closing the door. He blinked several times, recalling his last statement.

He couldn't have.

There is NO WAY he just said that.

"OH REALLY?" Rei's reply confirmed his deepest fear. Her reply was mixed with a challenging tone and a warning tone. Actually, it was mostly of a warning tone. Or was it a threatening tone?

He wanted to bury himself right then and there. He reluctantly turned to look at her. She had her hands on her hips and was tapping her foot a million times a second.

"Well?" She asked, eyebrow raised.

Yzak could feel the blood rushing to his face as he struggled to choke out the answer. "N-NO!" He practically shouted as he quickly closed the door.