==Lap 19=

The following day, Black Shadow gazed upon Excalibur—once again present in his throne room. Blood Falcon and Excalibur were together, with Rose and Blaskovitz present to observe.

The Emperor of Brutality, hateful as always, questioned the Manchu mercenary. "I understand why Rose couldn't kill Chiya Flower. But why couldn't a seasoned mercenary such as yourself do it?"

Excalibur shook his head. "Killing Chiya wasn't my mission. My mission was to prove that I could win a fight against against Seppuku—we did." Showing no fear in his stance, Excalibur pointed toward the emperor. "Add me as a permanent member of your team, then we can talk about actually killing those three."

Black Shadow growled, "You didn't prove that you are an asset worth keeping around. Any fool can survive an encounter by running away."

"I had Chiya helplessly at gunpoint," the man argued. "All I had to do was press the trigger and she would have been a problem out of your hair."

Blood Falcon pat Excalibur on the back, "He did keep that pesky girl off my hands while I fought Seppuku."

Just about everyone in the room was surprised to find Blood Falcon coming to the defense of this stranger. Of everyone in the room, only Excalibur and Black Shadow were true humans—everyone else was a 'creation' built in Black Shadow's best image. For one of these 'superior' creations to praise a regular human was prestigious within Dark Million. Black Shadow, however, saw past the praise and raised a new question.

"Why couldn't you beat Seppuku?"

"Wh- What!?" Blood Falcon stomped forward. "I did beat him! The 'man', if you can call him that, pulled out a sword at the last minute and dealt me a strong blow. His dishonesty in battle makes him a coward!"

"Sounds like his dishonesty made him stronger than you."

With a great temper, Blood Falcon shouted, "Say what!?"

In an even more surprising twist, it was Excalibur of all people who defended Blood Falcon.

"I should remind you, lord," Excalibur said while stepping forward. "Your assignment was to find Seppuku—we did. Additionally, we were to strike fear into the metropolis—we did as well. We're still alive and the universe knows it, so all in all, the mission was a success."

Black Shadow rubbed his chin again, contemplating what to do with Excalibur. He spoke the truth in that the mission was technically a success. Their attack on Seppuku and Chiya did occur, and Mute City was aware of this. Dark Million sent their message to the population, the message that no one can hide, and that the empire can attack any place at any time.

Excalibur's head jolted up in shock all of a sudden, as he could feel his left bicep being rubbed. It was Rose.

In a playful tone, she sang, "Come on then, Master. He would make a handsome and threatening addition to our arsenal of destruction…"

The mercenary did not respond to Rose's cuddling. Rather, he stood there, waiting for Black Shadow to respond. The emperor appeared undecided on how to feel about this, and this feeling would reflect upon his decision.

Two days had now passed since Chiya's first day at the Falcon House. As Bart had expected, the man known as Jason Knox quickly befriended Chiya—an obvious desire to know her in place. Each day since meeting the two associated with one another at the Falcon House, and this was driving a paranoid Earl insane. The Korean did not back down on his theory that Jason was trying to warm her up into a bad relationship—one that was aiming toward sex. Understanding that Chiya was someone who very much wanted her first time in bed to be with the destined person of her life, he feared that Jason was not this person.

The attributes Jason conveyed all pointed toward bad things that Earl himself either was or had been. Mixed with someone who did not bear the same morals and values, Earl found reason to distrust Jason. These were just presumptions Earl had however—not facts. Bart was defending the idea that Jason is just a man seeking a future wife, and thus, a Bendek-Lemming feud was looming. Worse was that, perhaps, a second Bendek-Flower feud may be on its way to existing.

Earl was in the garage examining the Red Dove. Though he would never tell Seppuku this, he had been focusing much more on the Purring Kitten nowadays, as he was in such loyal support to Chiya's F-Zero endeavors. Still, he had to give a fair share of attention to Seppuku's side of the F-Zero world as well. With this being said, Earl had chosen a very opportune time to do so, for Seppuku had just walked in to catch the man fixing his machine.

Both surprised and pleased, Seppuku Earl from behind, "Bendek."

"Yeah?" Earl turned with an exhausted face, for he had been leaping around the Red Dove constantly doing different things.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go get another movie, I've got nothing to do until the Grand Prix starts." The Man of Darkness tipped his fedora and put on a grim expression. "Don't invite Flower this time."

Earl shook down the offer, "I'd love to, but with the Grand Prix so close, I have to make sure that both machines are in perfect working condition. I might have to tear some outdated pieces apart, which will take a few hours. Basically what I'm saying is that I'm booked for a day or two."

Out of nowhere, Chiya popped up with a smile, "Hey, Earl. Was going to head over to the Falcon House again. Want to come?"

"Sure."

Seppuku grunted, and of course, followed this up with disapproval. "Wow, Bendek. To think I was proud of you for a moment..." The man took off from the garage right after saying this.

Chiya bloated her cheeks at Earl, "So—o, when would you be coming to the café?"

Earl shrugged, "We can just hitch a ride together. And, uh, I was thinking of performing an examination of the Purring Kitten's engine tonight. I know you have some knowledge in engines. Want to help me?"

The girl nodded with a big smile, "That sounds great! Uh, but..." Earl raised an eyebrow. "Ah, shoot. I already told Jason that-" Earl scowled at the mentioning of his name, his face alone cut Chiya's sentence apart. "What's wrong?"

Earl looked into her eyes with visible frustration—and fear. "I want you to be careful around that guy. Maybe I have the wrong idea about who he truly is, but for now, I'm under the presumption that-"

She interrupted, "What presumption?"

"I've crossed paths will men like him before. He's trouble."

"He's not trouble," she argued. "He's a cool guy with somewhat of an ego; but that's okay, I've got somewhat of an ego, too."

Earl shook his head defiantly, "Trust me, I know his kind. We're both snakes trying to lure women into a trap—only he's likely a little more dirty-minded." Before Chiya could speak, Earl continued with a new point. "Aren't you bothered that he's been calling you names like 'sweet cheeks' these past two days?"

"Oh, blimey." Chiya smirked the slandering off. "That's nothing, Earl. It's like if I started calling you 'hot stuff'. I'm sure you wouldn't find that offensive."

"What about the many girlfriends he's claimed to have. Doesn't that concern you?"

"Uh..." Chiya lowered her eyebrows. "Look, if you're going to act like this, then maybe I don't want you to come."

Earl sighed and looked down at his feet, "I just want you to be really careful. Don't jump into a relationship with this guy right away just because he's good looking and can throw out bad shock humor." Earl placed a hand over her shoulder and delved a little deeper. "You're a beautiful woman, Chiya, and soon you'll be an F-Zero celebrity. You must understand, if you really do want to save yourself for 'the one', you'll have to dodge some lustful shots. If there is even the slightest chance of fooling you into surrendering your virginity to someone, there are thousands upon millions of people who will try and take the shot."

The Mysterian was beginning to glow in embarrassment, "I never said I wanted a relationship with him..! B- But given how you treat the women that you meet, I may or may not be interested in trying the snake game out for myself."

"What!?" Earl yelled. "So you just admitted that you're trying to piss me off!"

"W- Well..." Chiya's eyes darted around the room in quick motions. "Why do you care so much about my love life anyway? You rejected me. If you didn't want me, then yes, I'm going to pursue interests outside of these walls."

The man glared and flailed his arms, "I- I didn't reject you, I abstained from deciding that night. You were the one who fled before I could return with a response. If anything, you rejected yourself."

Chiya's eyes began to water, "Yeah, but..!" She grit her teeth and shook in disapproval. "Well, maybe I got lucky. You're so worried that someone like Jason will try and be my first, when in reality, you might have the same ambition!"

Earl turned away from Chiya after hearing this. "I'm not going to even humor that theory, but I will give a single response." He raised a finger up, still not facing her. "If I were to go that far with you, it'd be because you and I are madly in love. Happy with each other. Destined for one another." Chiya's eyes were still watering, and as Earl turned his head, it was made evident that his were as well. "Someone like Jason, I feel, wants pre-marital action. No romance, little to no respect, and possibly no future plans for you."

The two remained silent for a few moments. Earl looked away from her again and breathed in. To Chiya, these were beautiful comments—only she refused to accept his claim about Jason. Rightfully so, as she had witnessed nothing sexual about Jason, nor had Earl for that matter.

"If you and I were lovers, I'd enjoy the present with a smile, I'd look back at the past with a smile, and I'd look toward our future with an even bigger smile. While perhaps I'm not the guy for you, that is the person you should look for. One who seeks only sex will smile at the present and smirk at the past—but the expression give toward future thoughts will vary. Guarantee."

Breathing in, Chiya placed her hands together and nodded. "I respect your guidance, Earl. I really do." With this being said, Chiya mounted the Purring Kitten. "I'll level with you though."

"Eh?"

Chiya frowned at her companion and shrugged. "You speak wisely, but, how could I ever truly trust a man who hits on women right in front of me?" Remembering back a few days ago, Earl closed his eyes. Indeed, he had been hitting on a girl right in front of Chiya. "I don't know if Jason is out doing stuff with women just for twisted and lustful reasons. What I do know, is that you partake in such activities with women. You may not have sex with those women, but you're still hurting them. So let me make this clear to you. I will never trust your word as utter truth, unless you become the type of person you want me to be."

Earl quirked his mouth without a word to say. As strong as he believed in the idea that Chiya was in danger with Jason, indeed, he was in no position to make 'snake claims' while he himself was a snake. So he nodded to Chiya, feeling the need to concede this point to her.

The Mysterian smiled at him, appreciating his sign of understanding. "Come on over to the Falcon House when you're ready, and you'll see that he's just a funny guy."

With another nod to her, Chiya soon closed her machine's cockpit and took off onto the streets. Earl remained standing with a blown back expression. Even though he had brought up some good points, in the end, he still felt defeated by her.

The sound of footsteps soon came from behind Earl. "What the hell did I just listen to?" asked Seppuku.

Earl grunted in surprise, Seppuku had never left the garage. The Korean was quick to repeat much of the same. "That guy Chiya's with is trouble. I know that this is going to end with me needing to save her again."

"Are you kidding me?"

Earl returned a glare, "What? What's so funny about that?"

Seppuku struck an intimidating pose and explained, "Do you really not trust Flower with this? She's an independent woman and, despite how dumb she seems to be at times, making bad decisions is actually somewhat of a rarity from her. Even if she were at risk, no doubt she's smart and willing enough to cut the guy off."

"B- But that's so risky! If I can stop her from falling to a bad person, I should try!"

"Just leave her be. If it ends up being some abusive relationship, then kick his ass. If he steals her virginity and runs off, then that's her own fault with a lesson attached to it. She'll just cry her eyes out for a few days and be careful from that point forward. No problem."

"No! I can't condone that—I won't! I want Chiya to be perfectly happy. I don't want some random stranger to score off of her and win the day."

Seppuku threw both his arms up, "Then just let her be! Christ almighty, Bendek!" Earl took offense to this, but shrugged it off. "If you really want to put an end to this shit, just take her out yourself. You know she's affectionate for you, you're obviously partial—if not madly in love—with her. I repeat again, for the third or fourth time since she's come here. If you want to ensure her protection, just lock her down."

Almost childishly, Earl walked past Seppuku and approached his car. It would seem that everyone was wrong in some ways. No doubt, Earl was being far too protective of Chiya.

"Screw that. I'm putting an end to this nonsense, now."

Seppuku sighed in frustration. "You really don't believe Flower will protect her interests. Why? Because she's fragile? Because she's a woman? Because you think you're smarter than her?"

Earl growled, "I'm not allowing her to form a relationship with him. In fact, I'm imposing a division between the two."

"Wow."

The conversation died right here, and Seppuku walked away. Earl got inside his car and sat for a few moments, somewhat distraught over what he had just said. There was an immediate agreement with himself that he wouldn't actually impose any demands over Chiya's love life. At the same time, he wasn't sure if he could tolerate an escalation between Chiya and Jason. There was only one way to settle this.

Earl had to get to know Jason Knox on a more personal level.

Minutes later, Earl stormed his way into the Falcon House. He was annoyed to find Chiya and Jason. Bart was cleaning glasses away from the two. With a welcoming face, Bart looked up at Earl.

"Hello, Earl."

Chiya and Jason looked over at Earl, the wave Chiya gave Earl came with a concerned face. Earl waved back at her before deciding to insert himself into the conversation. He had already gotten across to Chiya that he didn't like Jason, so being rude was the least of his concerns. Things became especially awkward as Earl sat himself right beside Jason.

Chiya lowered her eyebrows with a nervous smile. "Are you feeling better now?"

Earl faked a chuckle, "Oh yes, I am much better now." Chiya didn't buy this, and displayed her doubt by gulping. "So what are we talking about?"

With mutual discontent, Jason rolled his eyes away from Earl. "Well, I was talking F-Zero with Chiya, but I guess we can-"

Earl clenched his fist and nodded, "I love F-Zero. I'm Chiya's manager, after all."

"Ah, okay…" Jason turned a grin onto Chiya, "I got two tickets to the first race. Was wondering if you'd go?"

Earl widened his eyes. Bastard's doing what I did with Chiya…

Chiya giggled, "Well, that's sweet. But I'm a racer this year, as you know. So I'll be on the actual track."

The young man, who had just embarrassed himself a bit, closed his eyes and chuckled. "Ah, right. How could I make that mistake?"

With a puckered lip, Earl added, "Yes, I'll be talking to her throughout the entire race via headset."

Chiya smiled, "Hey, we're all friends here. Maybe you can come up to our private booth with Earl and watch."

The Korean glared, "Hell no!" His glare was struck down by Chiya's glare. Earl was quick on damage control. "Uh, because, I don't think Seppuku would ever allow anybody else up in the booth."

Chiya had attempted to keep both Earl and Jason tame, but already, there was a bias toward Jason. The Mysterian was both insulted and agitated by Earl's hostility toward the man. There would be bad consequences starting now.

With a tempered look, Chiya shook her head. "Wrong. We will be resorting in the Chiya Flower booth from now on. Seppuku's booth will remain empty. In short, I can allow whoever I want into my booth."

Earl remained silent to this, easily reading this as yet another attack on him. He'd give Chiya credit for one thing—she knew how to make emotionally painful attacks.

Still, Jason turned down the offer. "Nah, I'm good. I'll just watch from the stands."

Chiya was instant on responding. "That's okay. You and I can just talk via headset instead of Earl..!"

Earl gasped, feeling as though his heart had been crushed. Even Chiya seemed to somewhat regret saying this seconds after. Jason raised his eyebrow and smirked.

"Um, no—o," Earl lectured. "We're a team, Jason's a friend. We do still want to win the Grand Prix, right?"

"Calm down, Earl. I can handle myself on the track without your guidance."

Earl was grinding his teeth at this point. The sudden desire to speak with Jason during F-Zero was obviously forced, as even he knew, but the very idea of this was beyond ridiculous—and dangerous. To make matters worse, Jason seemed okay with this idea.

Full of hate, Earl closed his eyes. God, I hate this guy. I was really off. He's not just going to try and take her virginity, he's going to end up taking her life in the Grand Prix…

Earl and Chiya were exchanging states. Both young adults seemed conflicted on this matter, thus suggesting that Chiya didn't actually intend on letting Jason take Earl's job. Even so, he was going to treat it as though she were being serious.

"That's not happening Chiya. I'm sorry."

The Mysterian narrowed her eyes into slits. "I thought you were calmed down…"

"I am! But I'm not going to let you crash and burn just because you-" He shook his head in frustration, choosing not to complete the sentence. "Whatever. You either talk to me or drive in silence. I sure as hell won't let you race distracted."

Before Chiya could respond, Jason slapped his hand down over the counter. "Chiya, just let the man have his way."

"You know what? I will let him have his way..!"

Chiya said this as though she had won, but in reality, she found this to be a good way of claiming victory over Earl, while also retaining the idea of speaking to Earl during the Grand Prix, which she still agreed was a good idea.

"Well, Earl's obviously being rude right now. Perhaps we should go elsewhere," she proposed.

Earl began to panic, "Chiya..."

Jason nodded with a cool look on his face, "Sounds good. Where were you thinking?"

The Mysterian exaggerated her hum, then looked straight into Earl's pupils—the prime objective being to hurt him. "Somewhere fun."

The hostility was working wonders for her, as Earl sat quietly with quivering eyes.

Jason winked at her, "Well, I could bring you back to my place." Earl's eyes widened, as did his jaw drop. "There's a lot of neat things to do at my place."

Any look of frustration had disappeared from Earl's face. This was the precise situation he envisioned Chiya being in. She could accept and drive the nail through Earl's heart, but instead, she decided to claim a victory over him in a good way. She would demonstrate her independence, as Earl almost seemed to doubt her having much of.

"Nah," Chiya answered, plain and simple.

This also shocked Earl, perhaps the most relieving answer he could have heard from Chiya in this situation. The very disappointed—and somewhat annoyed—facial response Jason gave her further provoked Earl.

Jason turned his disapproving face into a smirk. "Alright, then how about I take you out to a restaurant."

Earl had caught Jason's eye as he suggested this, making clear that a war had just been waged between the two. This was the complete opposite of what Chiya wanted to happen. In fact, Chiya was merely interested in making a new friend. Ironically, Earl was trying to keep Chiya from forming a relationship with Jason, but through his persistent paranoia, it was in fact Earl who pushed the two straight into a date.

Chiya remained still with a blank face, at first appearing one hundred percent disinterested in the idea of a date. She looked to Earl for a moment, but only found frustration and disapproval in his eyes. Had he responded to Jason's request with sorrow, Chiya might have rejected the offer. Since Earl insisted on aggression, a whole different outcome came out of this.

Looking straight at Earl, Chiya nodded with fake optimism. "That sounds fun; great, actually..!"

At this point, Earl knew two things for a fact. He knew that Jason was bad news, and that Chiya was simply trying to agitate Earl by accepting the date. The problem was that combined, Chiya was in more danger than ever. Earl had a good response in mind for this, as Chiya waited anxiously for him to shout in disapproval.

"Good for you, Chiya. You've got a boyfriend again." Chiya widened her eyes and grit her teeth. Earl gave Jason a stare and nodded. "I hope Jason's the guy you've been searching for. The one who'll one day make you the happiest woman in the universe."

Chiya closed her eyes while biting on her lip. Perhaps the biggest point of accepting the date was to muster out a powerful response from Earl. Instead, she ended up with a compliment and a date with someone she wasn't quite romantically interested in.

"Thanks…" she muttered.

Though refusing to show such emotion, Earl was enraged by the date they had established with each other. Everything was going exactly as he foresaw, especially the proposal to take her back to his house. At this point he'd pay Jason his entire wallet to walk off.

With a cool smirk, Earl looked up at Chiya, "I don't mean to further intrude, but Seppuku had something urgent he wanted to do with you tonight. So right after your done with your date, I'd propose coming straight home."

Chiya raised an eyebrow at him, but Earl still had a smirk. He was lying, of course. By pressuring Chiya to get home early, there would be no possible time for Jason to make a sexual move. A somewhat relieved sigh came off of Chiya.

"Sounds good. What does he want from me?"

Earl shrugged, "Not sure. He just wanted me to relay that message to you."

Chiya nodded at him, "Then I'll head straight home after the restaurant."

Jason had been sitting still and silent for some time now. He hadn't even responded to her accepting the date. Soon enough, he looked up and said, "Well I'd like you to come by my place some time though. I have a pool."

Earl snapped his fingers and looked away. A pool. Well done, that'll grab her attention…

"Well, that sounds neat," Chiya acknowledged.

Both Earl and Jason continued to stare at her, expecting her to expand on this thought. Both were surprised as she looked away with nothing more to say. So far Chiya had demonstrated excellent precaution in staying away from a bed. Earl's fear was that Chiya didn't have the confidence to reject such an invitation, but so far she had made a mockery of him at every turn. She was an independent adult who took decisions carefully.

He was proud of Chiya for this much, but still, his powerful tendency to protect Chiya was taking over. Earl was desperate to at the very least uncover Jason, hence why the next words to come out of his mouth would prove to be both awkward and inappropriate.

"So, I heard Mute City may stop teaching Sexual Education in class and will instead make all students learn about it on a computer instead."

Chiya got an appalled look, her jaw flooring at this absolutely random sentence. "Earl, what the-"

"What do you think about that, Jason?"

The Mysterian turned her head toward Jason. She wasn't allowed to swear or talk inappropriately behind the counter, so she had little say on the matter. Before she could find a way to shut this conversation down, Jason chuckled.

"I don't know. It's been a long time since I took that class, and admittedly, I was thinking more about the sex than the education," he said with another chuckle.

Earl closed his eyes with a smirk. Chiya now stood with a distressed look on her face. She looked at Earl for a moment, then back at Jason.

"Huh…" she muttered with a dipped head.

She no longer had a challenging look towards Earl, but did seem somewhat bothered by him now—yet almost thankful. A lot had happened within these past minutes. She established that Earl and Jason dislike each other, established a date with Jason, and now heard through a comment that disturbed her from the same guy she'd be going on a date with. Part of her wanted to drop Jason on the spot, but not while working, plus, she didn't want Earl to win.

Chiya glanced away from the two and pointed at the door. "I think we should get going Jason."

Jason nodded at her with a grin, "Well, alright!"

The two walked away from the counter, leaving Earl alone on his stool. The sight of seeing Chiya and Jason walk out of the building together hurt, but he had nothing more to say. Earl's face became sadder with passing seconds, it wasn't until he heard a car start outside that he sighed.

"So," Bart spoke. "You were pretty successful today, huh?"

Earl turned a strong glare onto Bart, "Damn right. That guy's a creep. You put my favorite person in the universe together with a creep."

Bart lowered his eyelids and grinned, "Actually, it looks like you guided Ms. Flower right into that one."

"I'm just going to come out with it, Bart..." Earl narrowed his eyes at the coffeeman. "I'm angry at you. I blame you for this."

The coffeeman continued to grin, "Well, either you or Chiya will be thanking me eventually for this. Maybe both of you will."

"You're insane. No good can come out of this. No good."

"You know, even if Jason is someone not to trust, she won't learn anything from this experience if you're always there to catch her."

Earl slammed his fist down, "Am I hearing this right? You, of all people, are agreeing with Seppuku that I should just sit back and let Chiya get nailed by-"

"This is not what I'm saying," he argued. "I'm saying, you should let her figure that one out on her own. Don't you trust that she would reject any invitations?"

The Korean continued to grind his teeth toward Bart, but did soon cool down and sigh. "I don't know. Chiya's a smart person—very smart, considering she only has a high school education and lived on the streets for so long." He looked out the window, toward the ocean. "But... But I'd like to always be there to help her if I can. Extra precaution."

"But you don't trust that she could reject Jason if he were to get touchy?" Earl remained silent, not wanting to doubt Chiya's role as an independent woman—but at the same time in a conflicted position. "You know, if Jason is a womanizer, you're not being a very good role model either…"

"B- But there's a difference! A big difference! I'm not into having sex just because I'm in a relationship. I don't sleep with any of the girls I've encountered—I want to share that special moment one day with Ch- ch- cheerful... a cheerful wife that makes me happy."

Bart sighed, "You say there's not a big difference between you and other gaming men. But does Chiya see a difference?"

The man lowered his eyelids in sorrow. "I just respect Chiya so much as a person. I'd do anything to keep her away from trouble. I just need a little more time, a little more time to think. I need to think..."

"Earl, you're almost thirty." The Korean looked up at Bart with wide eyes. "Don't you think it's time to give up this charade and get serious? Leave behind your immaturity and meet Ms. Flower's maturity. That is how you will resolve everything. Get serious and give up with this ridiculous dating game you so often invest into."

Earl sighed and looked down, "Jeez... and I know you're right, too..."

"I bet she'd listen if you established that you were done dating every woman you found suitable."

For several moments, Earl thought about this. Chiya had made clear earlier in the day that this is what she wanted from Earl—to mature up and stop hurting women. Now this was so obviously the problem with taking Earl seriously that even Bart Lemming could spell it out. It was now that Earl performed much more thinking, he was thinking more so about Chiya, rather than himself.

"I am twenty-nine in a few days, maybe it is time to stop…"

Bart gave him a quick nod, then looked Earl in the eyes, "If you would give up something so big just to prove a point to Ms. Flower, she will listen to you. Most importantly, she will respect you."

Earl's hand began to tremble over the counter, only now did he begin to recognize just how aged his skin had become. He was not old, but he was no longer the young teenage boy he once was. The Korean closed his eyes and faked a chuckle.

"So that's it then, eh? I guess that chapter of my life is over and done." He brushed his hair back and looked up at Bart. "I'm done. From now on I only scout for girls I would consider one day marrying."

"Like Ms. Flower."

Earl widened his eyes and began to raise his brows. "You sneaky bastard. I see what you're really up to…" Now Bart raised his brows as well. "It's not at all that you think she'll listen to me, it's that you want me to compete with Jason. You're playing cupid."

Bart looked out the window and smirked, "What can I say? You two are meant for each other and it's painfully obvious." The coffeeman looked back down at his companion with the same smirk. "So what will it be? Are you going to continue teasing her or let her pursue other romantic interests?"

No response was given, nothing but a cold soulless stare from Earl. No matter how hard he tried to prolong forming a romantic relationship with Chiya, there was no end to this same situation. If not Jason, Chiya was going to end up with Earl eventually, and he was beginning to understand this. With Bart and Seppuku quietly pushing the two closer together, it was inevitable that no matter what happens between Chiya and Jason, the Mysterian would be in a committed relationship very soon.

These past days had been horrendous for Earl, but even so, he managed to work on the Red Dove. After careful thinking an hour after leaving the Falcon House, Earl at last came to terms with his decision. He would be a snake no more in the eyes of his peers. With luck, this would be enough to grab Chiya's attention.

At this point in time, Earl was tuning up the Red Dove to make it work better within a hot environment; in this case, Fire Field. The Purring Kitten would need similar tuning, something he hoped to do alongside Chiya as a bonding exercise. Chiya and Earl could use some bonding after a day as tension-filled as this.

Earl finished working on a component within the machine, and upon standing up, he was met with Chiya's person. The Korean was shocked by her sudden presence.

Earl gasped at her sudden presence, then realized the obvious mistake he had made. The Purring Kitten was currently in the garage, so of course, this meant that she was home the whole time.

"I never saw you get back. Strange…"

Chiya appeared discontent, as Earl expected. "So I rushed home to see what Seppuku wanted. He informed me that he had nothing for me to do, shouted at me, and then proceeded to kick me out of his office. It's almost as if Seppuku did not have anything to tell me. Care to explain?"

"Uh..." Earl rubbed the back of his head, having not thought this plan through enough. He then shook at her. "I had to make sure he didn't take you back to his place."

"Oh!" Chiya faked her surprise. "That's great! But, uh, as I recall, I had already rejected his invitation! So..."

"B- But, Chiya-"

The Mysterian narrowed her eyes, "What exactly is your problem with me? Are all females susceptible to men? Is that what you're too afraid to tell me? Are you afraid to straight up tell me that I'm incapable of protecting myself?"

"No, no. You're right. I- I'm sorry..." He pocketed a hand and bowed to her. "I just wanted to make sure he didn't try and tempt you, or-"

"I'm angry about your sex ed comment. You realize this as well, right?"

"Hell no."

Chiya barred her teeth, "Earl, you're being a wanker..."

Earl approached Chiya with a challenging face, "Jason Knox is a pervert trying to get inside of you!"

"No he isn't," she argued. "He's just had many of girlfriends, like you."

"Yeah, well, Bart convinced me and showed me the light. As of today, I've grasped a better understanding of how my snaking makes you feel, so, I've given it up. I will no longer hit on random girls."

"Finally!" Chiya cheered.

Earl grunted at her response, but found that he had appeased her. Now he could start fixing any damage he caused today.

"Look, Chiya, I'm truly sorry if I'm interfering with your love life. But please, for the love of God…" Chiya blinked at him nervously, anticipating some kind of hard response. "Just don't let him have his way with you. I beg of you."

Chiya began to turn red, somewhat in embarrassment, "N- No, of course not. I swear I will only do that with the man I plan on marrying." The girl scrolled her attention away from Earl. "Besides, I'm not actually sure if I will continue this relationship. Dinner with Jason was alright, but..." With a somewhat weak face, she glanced at Earl for a second. "It... wasn't as nice as the dinner you had with me at that restaurant. And that wasn't even a romantic date we had."

Earl grinned at her, "Good. I'm still not condoning this relationship, though."

"It wasn't a good date, but perhaps the next will be better." Just like that, Earl could tell that he provoked Chiya again. "He's a great guy and I'll prove this to you yet…"

Chiya and Earl continued to stare at each other without motion. There was no doubting Chiya's reasoning for continuing onward with Jason was to make Earl jealous. There was some comfort in knowing that Jason wasn't swaying Chiya, but instead, turning her away to an extent. Still, Earl would not be tame until he saw the end to this. For the time being, Chiya and Earl would continue having a friendly war with each other.

With Chiya's first ever F-Zero Grand Prix just around the corner, this was no doubt the final obstacle coming between Chiya and Earl. If they could work through the matter of Jason Knox and reach the Grand Prix, things would begin to gradually get better. Chiya would be an intergalactic celebrity, Earl her manager, and perhaps the two finding each other's heart at last.

To be continued…