Author's Note: I can't resist the urge to add another character from Animal Parade. I guess she could smooth out the relationship between Ritsu and Chihaya... we'll see.

Update 18-07-2011, 17:38 WIB. Fixed a minor mistake that could confuse someone. Sorry.

"What's wrong with him? Is he high?"

"No, he's just pretty damn happy."

It was a warm Saturday afternoon in the Castanet Café. The three of us were sitting around in the kitchen, completely free of customers to serve. Chihaya was confused enough to tilt his head as he locked his sight towards the bright smiling man who helped me waste a few robbers the night before.

"Care to explain? I'm not foolish enough to ask this probably smashed man." He turned his head to me, pointing at the more-than-happy Yuuki.

"I'm not sure of the details, but I'm sure it involves our kohai, Nakano Azusa. For some reason, they started calling each other by their given names." I took a sip of my coffee, closing my eyes to feel the taste even deeper.

"You didn't look this happy when Hirasawa called you by your given name." Chihaya smirked at me.

"I'm sane enough to keep my bearings, and I don't particularly like it."

"GIVE ME ALL OF YOUR MONEY!"

Reflexively, the three of us ducked down to avoid detection. It seems someone was crazy enough to rob a place at this hour.

I signaled the others to wait while I check the situation. They nodded and gave me the go ahead.

As I plucked my head out of the counter, I saw a gun barrel a few meters away aimed towards my forehead. Thankfully, I was born with enhanced reflexes, which saved me from having a bullet blasting through some things inside my skull.

"That was close." I muttered, looking at the hole on the kitchen wall where my head was previously located. The robber kept firing away, mostly due to fear.

"What kind?" Yuuki turned his head to me.

"Six-gun."

"Okay…" He leaned against the counter, relaxing as he let out a sigh. "But really? Robbing at broad daylight? I guess this world had gone mad." Yuuki, out of his trance, was pretty amused. A round was shot to one of the frying pans, making a loud 'ding' sound.

"Not mad enough to make a man rob a place in this hour." I replied, noticing another round fired.

"Will you guys just shut up and figure out a way to stop this!" Chihaya was in a state of panic, covering his ears with his hands.

"Ah you worry too much, Chihaya. That's one of the many causes of fast aging, y'know." With his cool, calm and collected manner, Yuuki said to the scared chef.

"My café's gonna be destroyed! Damn you, criminal scum!" He shouted at the gunman, though inaudible due to the gunshots booming away.

"Should be any minute now…" I counted the holes on the wall, four were present, one bullet hit the pan, so it'll be one more shot.

Bang!

"Go!"

Like I had stated before, the gun I saw just a few seconds ago was a six-gun. Despite having a cool design and one hell of a kick, the weaknesses of this old firearm are the reload time and capacity. Without a moon clip, it requires excellent dexterity and speed to slide the bullets to the chambers. Just by looking at his idiocy of robbing a place in daylight, I could tell he's not a professional in gun handling. Yuuki and I knew enough to strike while he's reloading, it's the best chance for an unarmed man to strike at an armed man.

The distance between us and the criminal was rather far, he retreated as he saw us running up to him. I'm pretty sure I could outrun him, but something stopped him from exiting the café.

That something turned out to be someone, who was rather lethal.

The crook fell on his back, unconscious, nose was bleeding and broken. The bright lights outside blinded us, revealing only a silhouette of the person who knocked the man out.

"I see you boys are still kicking ass."

That voice…

"No way… you're…" Yuuki, recognizing the voice, stared at the shadow in disbelief.

"Yo." The person stepped closer, revealing the cat-like grin I haven't seen in a long time.

"Kathy!"

Kathy MacFarlane. I must say, it's good to see her well. She was someone quite important to Yuuki and me. Back in junior high, she was a fighter, one of the strongest in school. She formed a gang on her own, The Stormbringers, an all-female gang that consists of well trained girls, fighting for peace and harmony of the school. She was really unique in our old school. Every person would fight for themselves, but The Stormbringers, they fought for someone else. Be it protecting someone, or resolving some problems with cheating men the hard way, they all did it.

This peculiar old friend of mine is a transfer student from the US. She was expelled in the middle of 7th grade due to her constant fighting spotted by the officials, and was forced to go back to her country. I remembered she often came and fought beside me and Yuuki, giving us a good support of firing power. I suppose she is one of the most important people in my life.

"What the hell are you doing here? I thought you went back to the states!" Yuuki couldn't believe his eyes.

"I'll do the explaining later, let's just call the cops and let them clean this mess." She kicked the unconscious man lightly.

"Deal."

I too, was rather curious of her sudden appearance. Though I remember she had a short hair a few years back, the blonde hair is now long enough, enabling it to be tied up in a ponytail. The green, shiny, cat eyes were still there, without a single change seen. She has grown even taller now, remembering she's carrying the genes of an American. She was a few centimeters shorter than me and Yuuki, maybe she's around 174 cm or so.

The police came in rather quickly, arresting the criminal and thanking us for the assistance. I can't help but to think about the courageous act Kathy had pulled. Curious, I decided to ask the people outside to know more.

"We were terrified, we heard gunshots coming from inside. Suddenly, a foreigner ran up to the place and kicked the robber in the face! It was amazing, she was like a superheroine!"

Okay, the thought of Kathy being a superheroine is rather disturbing. But she's still the same as ever, a bold and courageous woman.

As soon as the place was cleaned, we had a chat with the former gang leader.

"I decided to come back here, feeling the US isn't really fitting for me." She took a sip of her tea, courtesy of Chihaya. "I'm currently looking for a school to transfer to, got any recommendations?"

"There's a lot, but if you want to join us, we're in North High now." I said to her. "It's an average school, but peaceful enough. No bullying or anything."

"Great, I'll go there." Kathy turned her head to Chihaya. "But seriously, I never thought a lousy place like this would be robbed in the daylight." She said jokingly.

"Well, the term 'lousy' isn't really befitting for this extraordinary place. And that scum had a few screws loose on his brains." He retorted, taking a glance at the bullet holes on the kitchen walls.

The foreign woman chuckled lightly, remembering the old days of hanging out in the café with her gang. "So, how's life for you two? I suppose Chihaya's is still the same after all these years." She pointed at Yuuki and me.

"Much, much better for me." Yuuki stated, looking up at the ceiling. "Looking back at my days with you both, it's like heaven to me."

"How about you, Yamamoto? Do your friends know your secret?"

"Yeah." I scoffed. "They accepted me though, unexpectedly."

Kathy smiled, reminding me she was a reliable big sister type. She couldn't be happier when she knew someone's trouble has been resolved. "That good to hear. How do they find out?"

"Well, that's…"

"Full of action packed adventures." Chihaya piped in.

"What?" Kathy tilted her head, confusion on her face.

"You don't want to know, really. It's pretty… abnormal." I said, not in the mood for explaining.

"Oookay… so I take it you both don't need any help, then?" I could easily tell she was happy seeing us without problems, unlike the years of junior high, where she would constantly helped us fight.

"Pretty sure I don't." Yuuki stated confidently.

"None for me." I said.

"Good. I'm happy for you both."

Chihaya's phone rang, getting all of our attention. He took it out of his pocket and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Chihaya! Are you alright? I've just seen the news!" That voice was undoubtedly Tainaka's, she was pretty loud that the whole café could hear everything even though the phone isn't in loudspeaker.

"I was until you shouted and got me deaf!" He retorted, pushing the phone away from his ear.

"Oh, that's good to hear… anyway, I'm heading there!" Tainaka then hung up, bemusing the chef.

"Who was that?" Kathy seems amused.

"Friend of Hiromi's. She's the president of the club he joined." Chihaya put his phone back to his pocket.

"Club? Really?" The blonde turned her head to me, looking pretty interested.

"I know what you're thinking, but it's a requirement. Like it or not, I have to." I explained to her.

"But turns out, you loved it." Yuuki piped in.

"I do not." I bluntly butted.

"You're denying it." Kathy stated, putting up a hand to her chin. "You haven't changed at all, Yamamoto."

"People don't change, Kathy." I stated.

"Oh, they do, Yamamoto. Slowly and surely, they will change depending on the ones who influenced them." With an air of confidence, Kathy stated boldly. "I'm pretty sure you remember how I like to help people in need a few years ago, with a method of violence. But now, I'll use it as a last resort. I'll try to talk my way out before punching someone in the throat." She breathed out a long sigh, remembering the old days. "Seated here in front of you is a perfect example of a changed woman."

"Whatever." I'm not really in the mood for lectures now, so I'll just shrug it off.

A few calls were received. It was the club asking how Chihaya was doing. After a few statement, the chef was rather amused by the worried friends. He had never been on someone else's worry list before, and this would be his first time.

The fragile glass door opened, revealing the worried drummer of the club in her casual outfit, gasping for breath. Tainaka was rather relieved to see the chef well, and was confused when she saw an unfamiliar face.

"You don't have to come all the way out here…" Chihaya said to her.

"I was worried! And who's this?" Tainaka turned her head to Kathy.

"Meet Kathy MacFarlane, an old friend, a caring girl, and one hell of a fighter." Yuuki introduced the president of the club to our old friend.

Kathy stood up, offering her hand with her cheerful face attached "Pleased to meet ya!"

"Ah, I'm Tainaka Ritsu." The tomboy was amazed as she shook the foreigner's hand. Kathy was practically towering her, the difference of their heights were too far.

"Why the hell did you run, anyway?" Chihaya asked Tainaka with a frown on his face. Of course, that was, obviously, a fake expression of annoyance.

"I was worried! I ran by reflex when I saw your café on the news!"

"Try to stay calm next time, digest what the news has to offer first. Seriously, you panic too early." The chef turned his head away, hiding his blush.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry." Tainaka took a seat as she rested her tired legs. I stood up and fixed her a glass of iced tea for energy replacement. In a matter of seconds, she gulped down the contents of the transparent glass with the Castanet Café logo on it.

Kathy wore a mischievous expression as she locked her sight to the tomboy. I, for one, doesn't like that look. God knows what's on her mind when she looked like that.

"So, you're Chihaya's girlfriend?" She blurted out of the blue.

Tainaka reacted with a spit-take, making the table all messed up and wet. After a few coughs and groans, she glared at the question asker.

"Like hell I am! I don't even think there's a woman stupid enough to date this guy!" She yelled uncontrollably, pointing at the chef.

"Ex-squeeze me? I bet there are a lot of girls going for me out there!" Chihaya retorted.

Kathy laughed with much delight as the two started yet another verbal war. Ah, well, I guess this is one of her traits, making chaos out of nowhere.

We walked towards our respective homes after that, and Tainaka decided to settle things with Chihaya alone in the café. It was then Kathy decided to explain her doing.

"I just wanted to get them together."

She was very sharp in relationship problems, be it matchmaking, problem solving, or other stuffs I'm not interested in. It was like she's the goddess of love of some sort.

"I knew well that Tainaka was in love with the guy, it's just that she couldn't accept the fact really well. A state of denial, if you must say." She took a long breath, trying to find a way to explain Tainaka's position. "She couldn't believe she fell in love with the guy she detested, so she told herself that it was just a… whatchamacallit… mental illness maybe? Anyway, the point is, she didn't accept her true feelings about Chihaya."

"You're pretty good at this stuff. How did you know just by looking at those two?" Yuuki was rather curious at this point.

"The other members of the club gave a call to Chihaya. They were worried, I could tell. But Tainaka was the only one to approach him directly to make sure he's safe and sound. Isn't it obvious now?"

Kathy got the truth dead on. I was, in fact, amazed by her skills in deduction. It seems this old friend of mine is one of the eagle eyed people I've met.

"Getting sharper by the day, aren't you?" I said to Kathy.

"Of course, but it's just a hobby of mine to read people. Incidentally, it increases my knowledge of society and its characteristics. So… two birds with one stone."

She's interested in knowing people and what kind of problems they have. Not just that, she even went through all the trouble of finding them a solution. Kathy is, no mistake, the reliable big sister type that everybody loves. With those skills, supported by her status as a foreigner, she could make friends easily almost anywhere.

How I envy her.