Hey guys! I am SOSOSOSO sorry this took so fricking long to update! I've been super busy with school, fencing, making AMV's and stuff that it's been hard even motivating myself to write. But I'M BACK BABY! I hope you enjoy!

Notice: I own nothing, for I am not Hiro Mashima. Amen.

Chapter 11: An Unfortunate Argument

"Come on, Yukino! Last one in the water's a spoiled pumpkin!"

"I don't think that's how it goes, St- gaaah! Blublublub…"

Yukino's cry of protest was literally drowned out as Sting pulled her under the ocean water. All that could be seen by the casual observer was a roiling swarm of bubbles, until Yukino and Sting erupted from the waves in a geyser of foam and laughter. Despite the fact that Sting had just thrown her in the water and was playfully trying to force her back under, Yukino could not have been happier at the moment. She was at the beach, the sun was shining (but not right overhead), the water was warm, and there was enough of a breeze to prevent the atmosphere from getting muggy. But the best part: Sting had used his influence as a Guildmaster to ensure they had an entire stretch of beach all to themselves for the day. It was a perfect day, nobody but her and Sting… Oh, except for those two…

Under a lone beach umbrella anchored in the sand sat Rogue and Kagura. Kagura lay on the sand, looking up at the sky. She was dressed in a white two-piece bikini, but the ever-present Archenemy still lay by her side. She stared up at the blue, bored and jealous of the two in the water.

Rogue had expressly voiced his dissent when Kagura had wanted to go in the water, but that was the only thing he'd said the whole time. It appeared Rogue was putting on the "cool beach guy" act to try to impress her. He sat bolt upright next to her, except he was awkwardly leaning down to one side to put an arm around her shoulders. His eyes were fixed firmly on the horizon, or at least they appeared to be- Kagura couldn't tell where he was looking thanks to his mirrored sunglasses. To complete the image, Kagura could tell by the way his arm under her back felt that he'd been doing push-ups in the changing room. Not that Kagura would complain about that, but it was a little weird how much Rogue apparently felt the need to impress her.

Kagura sighed as she saw Lector and Frosch run through the shallows, playing a happy game of Marco Polo. Why should everyone but her get to have fun? "Come on, Rogue," she said gruffly, standing up. "We're going in the water."

Rogue grabbed her arm and shook his head vehemently. "I already told you," he repeated deliberately, "the water's cold and way less comfortable than sitting on the beach. Do you really want me to do that?" He gestured to Sting, who was now gargling salt water and seaweed for Yukino's amusement.

"Yes, Rogue. I do," said an exasperated Kagura. She and Rogue both made a face as salt water and bits of seaweed started coming out of Sting's nose. "Okay, maybe not that, but… why can't we at least go swimming? I get that you want to be all cool, but I would seriously be way more impressed if you'd be willing to just loosen up and have a little fun! Isn't that what going to the beach is for?"

Rogue looked taken aback. "What? We are having fun! Look at this ocean view! How great is the temperature here? Why do I have to go make a fool of myself for you to have fun? Why can't we just enjoy each other's company?"

Kagura shook her head. "Well, fine! If you're so caught up in your little tough guy act, I'll just go swimming by myself! I'm sure I'll have a lot more fun with Sting and Yukino than some moody, melodramatic twit who needs a haircut!" Kagura furiously grabbed Archenemy and stormed off towards the water.

Rogue's mouth was wide open. His right eyelid was twitching. I… need a haircut?

God, that relationship self-help book Rufus gave him was grossly misnamed.

Rogue took stock. So far, he'd managed to alienate his girlfriend, refused to let her do what she wanted, and made her storm off after insulting his hairstyle. What did the book say to do in this situation? After a moment of thought, Rogue recalled the passage:

"In the event of the backfiring of a Technique, the Courtier must approach and rectify the Situation with all maligned Parties involved in the mishap."

Okay. It was time to gargle some saltwater.

Kagura was starting to feel terrible about the way she'd yelled at Rogue. He was just trying his best to impress her. That wasn't so bad, and it definitely wasn't bad enough to warrant the things she'd said. Plus, he was right- it wasn't so fun out here in the water after all, especially without him. There were only so many different somersaults Sting could do. It was just that Kagura had been on edge the entire day, due to an unshakably eerie feeling that they were being watched.

Kagura did not acknowledge him at first. She and Yukino were laughing at Sting showing off his underwater somersaults. Rogue awkwardly shuffled up and sheepishly tapped Kagura on the shoulder. Kagura spun around in surprise and, as a result of her highly tuned combative instincts, slammed the hilt of Archenemy into Rogue's nose.

Rogue's greeting gagged in his throat. His head snapped backward, and a stream of blood flew in an arc from his broken nose as he fell straight backward into the water with a loud splash.

Kagura froze. Yukino gasped. Sting stopped somersaulting and cocked his head. Lector turned to stare. Frosch, oblivious as ever, didn't notice Lector had stopped chasing him and kept running off towards the populated end of the beach.

Rogue stumbled out of the water and collapsed to his knees on the sand. "What. The. Hell." His nose was broken and bent at a crooked angle, the entire lower half of his face encrusted with salty blood.

"Rogue…" Kagura started, her eyes welling up.

"No, I get it. You don't have to say anything. My hair's just so offensive that you needed to correct my face to compensate."

Kagura gasped. "No, Rogue, I'm so sorry, I-"

"Where's Frosch?"

"He's right- Hey, where did Frosch go? Frosch?" Lector whipped around and around frantically.

Rogue spotted the exceed in the distance. "Frosch has the right idea," he said coldly, pointedly looking at the ground. "This is not a good place to be."

Kagura, now sobbing, ran, threw her arms around Rogue's neck, and buried her face into his chest. "Rogue, I'm so sorry… I didn't mean all those horrible things I said to you! It was an accident! I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry…" her muffled voice came out from beneath Rogue's chin.

Rogue's hands slipped around Kagura's shoulders. "I know."

Kagura gasped. She pulled her face up and looked at Rogue. He was staring off where Frosch had run. "I'd better go get Frosch," he mumbled, and stood up.

"I-I'll come with you!" Kagura exclaimed and grabbed his arm.

Rogue put a hand on her shoulder. "No, I- I need some alone time." He still wasn't looking at her. "Please."

Kagura stared at Rogue. Her grip on his arm tightened.

"I'm not mad, Kagura. I just need a little time to recover. You enjoy yourself."

Kagura was torn. A large part of her wanted to just reach out and grab Rogue, pull him close, and tell him how much he meant to her. She wanted to tell him that no, she wouldn't be able to enjoy herself without him.

But a part of her realized the faint telltale lines of darkness that were now zipping about Rogue's head. And she realized that unless she let Rogue cool down, he might blow his top any second.

She let go of his arm. "Okay, I will. Go ahead." She leaned in as close as she dared and gave Rogue a peck on the cheek. "Good luck."

Rogue did not reply. He walked off towards the next beach until he looked as small as Frosch.

Somehow Kagura could not shake the feeling that she would never see him again.

Rogue had managed to fully blow off all his steam by the time he reached the next beach over. This one was much more crowded, overflowing with people lounging on all sorts of towels, chairs, and even other people (this was a weird town). It would be very hard to find Frosch in this mess.

Rogue started searching, but he had little luck. It was hard enough to look without having some little kid or fat dude run into him while he was examining the beach for a pink cat suit. At last Rogue found something that caught his eye, but it was not what he'd expected.

A woman lounged on the beach without a towel or chair. At first Rogue was intently focused on finding Frosch, but his eyes kept being unwillingly attracted back to her. Eventually he began to examine her so thoroughly that he lost all thought of Frosch entirely.

The woman's hair was long, silky black, and came down to about the middle of her back. She was clad in a purple bikini. Her curves were simple and streamlined, easily worthy of model status. Just the way she poised herself in her casual lounge was enough to drive most men into frenzy. Even Rogue lost all thoughts of Kagura, and became overcome with the most overwhelming sensation of shameful lust. His mouth grew wider, spilling a few drops of saliva. He found himself walking closer and closer… and closer…

So intent was he on the woman that he did not notice the swarm of men surrounding her, attending to her every whim.

Rogue now found himself standing directly in front of her. He sank to his knees, not by choice but not exactly against his will, either. "How may I please you, my lady?"

The woman finally acknowledged him, and smiled ruefully to herself. How often she pulled in new servants without trying. "Why, hello," she purred seductively. The rippling magic in her voice was akin to the web of a spider. "It appears I've made a new friend. What might your name be?" She casually brushed aside her hair in a way that flared her voluptuous breasts.

"Rogue…" Rogue breathed.

In an instant, the woman pulled a knife from her bosom and stabbed it right into Rogue's stomach. He gasped in shock, realizing his mistake, but it was too late. He collapsed on the sand.

"Huh. So the tigers are already here, are they? I was looking forward to having a little fun beforehand, but I suppose it can't be helped now." She snapped her fingers, and one of the hypnotized men handed her a communication lacrima. "This is Vanessa. The quarry is early. Execute the plan immediately."

She hung up and smirked to herself. Capturing Sting would be easy. After all, what man could possibly resist Vanessa the Temptress?

Hey! So, I just really want to thank you for reading this even if it's been so long you might not remember what happened last time. It really means a lot to me. And you know what else does? Reviews! Yeah, I'm going to spare you the speech, but reviews make me feel good. So you know, if you'd just take ten seconds to leave one of those right on down in the box below, you will have my eternal love and gratitude. Alright, so I AM going to be getting back on the writing train, so expect an update some time in the next week or so! Thanks so much for reading, everyone! Have an absolutely wonderful day!