==Lap 55=
The race on Green Plant was around the corner, but a few days remained to fool around on Earth first. Chiya and Earl had returned to Mute City together, both were overly excited to see each other and practically found themselves forced to lock lips with each other. To Chiya's fortune, this happened a few times back on Earth as well. The distance and time away from each other was the perfect fuel for a relationship-which Earl was clearly supporting at this point. No longer searching for any girl other than Chiya to share his feelings with. Aside from the romances of life, Earl was also ecstatic that Chiya was back where he could protect her-or at least be there in the scenario where she is successfully killed. Something the two could agree on, was that Chiya and Earl were excellent partners, along with Seppuku's might, there was little that could stop them.
Chiya began to open her eyes, but was immediately startled as she felt something other than a pillow on her. She could feel bare skin on her cheek. She opened her eyes up a slit and moved them to her left slightly-she could see Earl's bare chest below her. She found that her arms were tightly wrapped around his arm. Chiya could then remember what happened. The two proceeded to kiss each other on his couch when they got home later in the night, though he had taken off his shirt and allowed her to rub on his arms and biceps as she did so. Chiya was certain that this was leading straight to sex, though it didn't, admittedly she was somewhat relieved.
Chiya looked down at his arm, preparing to get off of him-but then found herself with a somewhat flustered look again, immediately falling victim to his muscles. She began to rub her cheek on his arm as she puckered her lips. It was fairly well known around the organization at this point that Chiya had a fetish for moderately muscled men. This is how I'd like to wake up every day of my life… she thought as she obsessed over his arm.
Chiya then forced herself off of him hesitantly and stood up, Earl grunted and somewhat opened his eyes. She dipped her head down and sighed as she saw him waking up.
"Sorry for waking you…" she whispered silently.
Earl slowly glanced at her with the slightest slits in his eyes, he then smiled and made a faint chuckle. He fell back to sleep after rolling onto his side. Chiya giggled and continued towards the door, wanting to give Earl privacy for the first time since reuniting with him.
She closed the door and brushed her hair behind her back, she then hummed and rubbed her chin. She looked at the door leading to the kitchen and raised an eyebrow. She then smirked and silently began moving towards the door, she was prepared to put what she learned from Fiona to use. She would prepare her first dish on her own and have it critiqued by her two friends. Let's see what we have available to work with…
Chiya couldn't find an apron in the kitchen, so she was going to be very careful. She found that there were many vegetables around the kitchen, but not many fruits. She had gathered all of the vegetables on the counter and stuck her tongue out as she thought what she could make.
"I'll probably just have to wing it and make my own little recipe…"
She hadn't enough time with her mom to learn many recipes, though there were indeed the necessary vegetables on the table to make something they had made together. But Chiya was feeling a little adventurous. She grabbed a cucumber and placed it in front of her carefully-she then pulled open a kitchen drawer to find a knife. She raised an eyebrow at what she was finding.
"What the Hell, Seppuku…"
Chiya was only finding switchblades, there were no regular knives, not even a simple butter knife. She sighed and looked in another drawer, luckily she found large knives meant for cutting food. She turned back towards the cucumber with a nervous look, she exhaled and held onto it as she began slicing it up very quickly. She was becoming surprised at how straight her cuts were, realizing that she would be done in no time.
Chiya smirked as she finished cutting the cucumber, she pushed the pieces to the side and pulled a carrot in front of her, repeating the same procedure. She began to chuckle as she did this, wondering if this might even go as far as becoming a new hobby.
About twenty minutes later, Earl came walking out of the bathroom after showering. He was now in his typical attire, it was the first time he had worn his leather jacket in six days. He was constantly pulling on the collar of the jacket, no longer accustomed to wearing it.
"Damn, this thing adds a little weight to my neck…"
He then raised an eyebrow as he looked down the hallway, Chiya was just entering Seppuku's office at that point-she was holding two bowls. Earl rubbed his chin and hummed, wondering what Chiya could be holding for Seppuku. Naturally, he began walking towards his office.
"Mom taught me how to make vegetable dishes, sometimes with fruit, I thought you-"
"Vegetables sicken me."
Chiya widened her eyes and began to whimper sadly, Seppuku crossed his arms together, trying to show that he wouldn't be broken down by her. Her eyes began to water up as he lip quivered.
"Oh, I see, it's just, I worked really hard on this because-"
"Oh geez, fine!"
Chiya smiled and put the bowl in front of him, though he didn't bother put his hand on it. Chiya raised an eyebrow at him after waiting a few moments.
"A-are you going to eat it?"
"Later." Chiya lowered her eyebrows in frustration, Seppuku then gritted his teeth and rubbed the back of his head, "Why are you pushing this onto me, Bendek would gladly-"
Earl then walked into the room and immediately looked over at his desk, spotting the two bowls. He smirked and began walking towards the two quickly, "What'cha got there, Chiya?"
Chiya smiled and grabbed a bowl off the desk, then held it out towards him, "Mom says I am good at making food dishes, so I made these for you guys."
Earl smirked and grabbed the bowl, "What is it made of?"
She shrugged, "Just a bunch of vegetables, and one fruit-I think, is a tomato a fr-"
"Well great, it'd be nice having someone who can make something actually decent around here," he chuckled and looked down at his stomach, "Potato chips aren't exactly my favorite meal of the day…"
Seppuku had a frustrated look on his face, but then something caught his eye as Earl turned his head towards Chiya again. He got a smile and began to chuckle. The two looked at him in confusion, Seppuku then began to laugh. Chiya widened her eyes fearfully at Seppuku.
"What!" she panicked.
Seppuku pointed at Earl's face and continued laughing, "Way to go Flower! You're more of a player than I thought!"
Chiya lowered her eyebrows and looked at Earl, trying to figure out what he was saying. Earl had a frightened look, assuming that something was on his face. Seppuku got up and walked around towards the two, momentarily grabbing Earl's neck. He pointed to the side of it and chuckled again. Chiya looked at Earl's neck and raised an eyebrow, there was now a red spot.
"You gave Earl a hickey!"
Earl and Chiya both responded by gasping. Earl pulled the skin of his neck, trying to see the blemish for himself, but he couldn't. He then stomped his foot down and began to turn red, "N- no, no! It's probably just a…" Earl swallowed and continued to stare at Seppuku, who was still smiling joyously, "Like, it's probably just there, like a pimple, there really is no reason for its sudden appearance."
"Weak, Bendek, weak…"
Earl continued to glow red and grunted a few times, momentarily rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. Chiya had a fearful look on her face as she observed the blemished area. She shook negatively in disbelief that she had done this, she then rubbed her forehead uncomfortably.
"I- I'm sorry, I was just exploring a little last night is all…"
Seppuku went back into his chair while still chuckling, "I don't see what you're upset about Earl, that should be a trophy."
Earl sighed, still not looking at Chiya, but the humiliation he felt was obvious to Chiya. He cleared his throat and grabbed the bowl of vegetables off of the desk. He glanced back at Chiya for a moment and closed his eyes nervously.
"I'll go try this now!" he said frantically as he pulled away from the desk.
Chiya stared at him as he quickly made his way out of Seppuku's office, she was biting her finger with a feeling of guilt—feeling that she did a very bad thing. She quickly looked back at Seppuku with watery eyes.
"Seppuku, what's a hickey?"
Seppuku gasped and slammed his hands down, "Y- you gave him a hickey, and you don't even know what one is?"
"No."
Seppuku raised an eyebrow at her, then grunted and jolted his head up. He slowly got a devious smirk on his face, falling back into his chair more comfortably. He rubbed his hands together as he looked into her sad eyes.
"Well, thank God you asked then, cause otherwise Earl would have died…"
Chiya let out a loud gasp, "What!? A hickey can kill!?"
Seppuku let out a loud whistle and stretched, "Flower, a hickey is one of the most dangerous conditions known to man, one of my good friends died from one."
"R- really!?"
Seppuku nodded, "Yeah, she got a hickey from her boyfriend, didn't treat it in time—and she got an infection and died." He chuckled and looked up at her, "There's a seventy-five percent chance of dying from a hickey if untreated…"
"No!" Chiya said nearly breaking down.
"Don't worry, Earl has plenty of time to get cured, considering you did just give it to him this morning?"
Chiya widened her eyes and gasped, "I gave it to him last night!"
Seppuku let out a gasp of horror, "Oh my God! Chiya! Bendek has about two hours to live at best if you don't get him treated!"
Chiya began to panic and bounce up constantly, "No! No! No! How do I save him!? This is my fault! I need to save him! I gotta'-"
"Alright, if you hurry, it may be okay…"
Chiya leaped up on his desk, nearly knocking his computer right over, she tugged on his scarf and had a furious look, "Tell me where! How! What do I do!?"
Seppuku grabbed her cheeks and gave her an intense stare, "Alright, I'll help you…" He then rubbed his chin as Chiya continued to hyperventilate, "You know that one fast food place? Pit Stop?"
"Yes! Yes!"
Seppuku held her mouth, blocking her from hyperventilating more, "Okay, to heal the hickey, you'll need to go buy a frosty drink, cherry- no, grape, a grape frosty drink, and bring it back to me."
Chiya nodded, "I'll bring him along so he can drink it in-"
"No you idiot! You don't drink the frosty drink! Just bring it back to me immediately so I can turn it into a vaccine!"
Chiya began to flail her hands in the air as she practically screamed, "Oh man! Oh God! I- it's okay Earl! I'm gonna' make you better!" she shouted aloud as she ran out the door.
Seppuku jolted up straight as she slammed the door roughly behind her. Seppuku then smirked and began to chuckle momentarily, having clearly fooled Chiya. He exhaled and licked his lips anxiously.
"Maybe I shoulda' asked for blueberry…"
Chiya sprinted down the hallway and took an immediate turn into Earl's room, she gasped after not seeing him anywhere. She let out a distressed squeal and immediately ran back outside, she then moved up to the bathroom and immediately began tugging on the door.
"O- occupied! Hold up!" Earl shouted from behind the door.
Chiya slammed her face against the door with watery eyes, "It's okay Earl! I'm gonna' save you, just breathe in heavily, keep air going through!"
She then ran off towards the lobby door, Earl continued to grunt behind the door.
"Huh?"
Chiya was later driving down the Lower City at a quick speed, she was driving right through intersections without stopping—determined to get Seppuku the frosty drink. Chiya pulled out her wallet and widened her eyes, she didn't see enough credits to afford the drink.
"Bloody Hell!" she screamed in frustration. She then gasped as she could see some coins tucked away, which would just barely get her the needed amount, "Thank you God…"
Chiya licked her lips nervously as she drove, completely frightened by this life threatening hickey Earl has. She rubbed her forehead and began to curse herself for doing this to Earl. She then gasped and looked up.
"That's it!" she began to nod frantically as she came up with a theory, "That's how vampires always kill their victims, they give them hickeys!"
She continued to have bad memories of how this went, envisioning herself with vampiric teeth violently digging into Earl's neck. She swallowed nervously and shook in disbelief, "Maybe that's why Rose wants to kiss Earl, she wants to give him a hickey!"
Chiya had only just learned what a hickey was and she already knew that it was the worst thing that could happen to a person. Of course, she didn't actually know what a hickey was, only Seppuku's cruel and untrue definition. Seppuku was pulling a fairly simple trick on her, and had already succeeded in proving how gullible she is-now he had to see if she would complete the mission for him.
Earl reentered Seppuku's office with a confused look on his face, Seppuku immediately looked up at him and smirked.
"Say, did Chiya say where she was heading off to? I see that the Purring Kitten is gone."
Seppuku slowly looked up at him, "Oh, she left to get me a frosty drink."
"Uh, that's a tad bit random."
"Whatever, Flower's weird, but anyways…" Seppuku stood up and walked up to a monitor that was hooked up on his wall. He pressed a button on a remote and brought up a 3D map of the planet Green Plant. "Game plan?"
Earl nodded and walked up to the screen, Seppuku zoomed in on the racetrack and looked back at Earl. Earl crossed his arms and rubbed his chin, "Well, we certainly can't let Blood Falcon do any better in this Grand Prix…"
Seppuku nodded, "Let's face it, we're probably looking at the exact same situation as last year-it'll be me, Captain Falcon, Blood Falcon, and maybe Jody Summer."
Earl smirked at him, "If we're just talking about winning the Grand Prix, we have a bigger problem…" Seppuku raised an eyebrow at him, "Mighty Gazelle has taken third, first, and another first."
Seppuku growled and clenched his fists, "That's right, that walking trash can is stealing the Grand Prix from right under our noses…"
"Seppuku, if Gazelle wins another one, then he's basically won already."
Seppuku stomped his foot down, "Dammit! But we can't just take him out, he's not evil, also, he has an enormous fan base!"
Earl sighed and nodded, "This is true, we were lucky enough that Captain Falcon forgave you in public for taking him out, Mighty Gazelle probably wouldn't, and of course, his fans would kinda' want us all dead…"
Seppuku face palmed and growled, "We're really in a situation now…"
The two stood still as they thought of what they could do. Seppuku momentarily looked up at Earl again, but then fought the urge to laugh. Earl glanced at him and raised an eyebrow. Seppuku then burst out laughing again while pointing at him.
"What!"
"I- I just can't picture Chiya doing that to you, regular kissing, yes, but I could just imagine how cute that must've been!"
He let out a loud sigh and crossed his arms together, "She was just nibbling on me a little is all!"
Chiya drove up the drive through and quickly opened her cockpit upon reaching the speaker. She tapped her fingers constantly as she waited for her to be greeted.
"Welcome to Pit Sto-"
"I need a purple freezy drink thingy right away!"
The person hesitated to answer, "Uh, yeah, is that all?"
"Yes, and please hurry! I gave my friend a hickey and I need to save him with this!"
The person once again hesitated to respond, the sound of chatter in the background could be heard slightly. Chiya began to grumble, "Come on!"
"Um, I'm sorry about that? Three credits will be your total…"
Chiya nodded and quickly drove up to the next window, she was biting her lip very tightly as she trembled, "Don't die Earl, don't die…" she muttered aloud.
A young teenager opened the window and smiled at her, "Three credi-"
"Here! My friend has a hickey and needs my help ASAP!"
The teenager lowered her eyebrows and constantly glanced away from her, "Uh- eh- u-uh, I see…"
Chiya threw the money at her and tapped her feet down constantly, the teenager took the money and smiled at her, "So were you and this friend chillin' then?"
"I was kissing him, then I bit onto his neck a little, and now he's going to die if I don't get him this drink!"
The girl continued to give her a puzzled look, but momentarily giggled, "Well, it is a drink to die for!"
Chiya shot back an offended look and was momentarily handed the drink. Chiya grinded her teeth and pointed at her, "I hope you get a hickey!"
Chiya then drove off without a response, hopeful that she could get it back to Seppuku in time. She drove right off the curb back onto the main road, just nearly getting into a collision. She gritted her teeth fearfully as she drove down the main highway of Mute City.
"Oh God, and Seppuku still needs to make the medicine out of this! That must take up quite some time!"
Her sudden fear of time loss then inspired her to do something dangerous. She flipped open a switch on her wheel and triggered her boosters, sending her machine booming down the highway. Chiya then lowered her eyebrows at the sound of rattling, she looked down and gasped. The drink was being shaken greatly and was moving off the dashboard of her machine. She gasped and quickly reached out towards the drink, but luck simply wasn't on her side. The freezy drink fell down and spilt all over the floor.
"No-o!"
She looked back at the road for a moment, then back at the spilt cup. Her eyes instantly began to water up in misery, "Oh my God! That was all the money I had!" she whined.
Chiya began to have bad thoughts, realizing that she was going to fail Earl and leave him to die. She shook negatively and began to hyperventilate, "No, no, no!"
She then did a sharp turn around a curb and headed straight for Bart's Café.
Bart was behind the counter watching the TV, he was intrigued at a news report about Captain Falcon stopping a robbery that took place on Mysteria. He crossed his arms as the reporter continued talking.
"Sources couldn't confirm why the robbery took place, and whether the armed robber had intentions of killing, but the Mysterian government was very clear that the man who rescued everyone was none other then Cap-"
Chiya kicked open the door and began running towards the counter with a panicked look, "Ba-art!"
Bart turned around towards her with a startled look, "Ms. Flower! What is it?"
Chiya slammed her hands down and continued to hyperventilate, "No time! Please Bart! I need three credits!"
Bart grabbed her hands and looked her in the eyes, "What for? What is it?"
Chiya's lip was quivering, "I- I need to get a grape freezy drink for Earl!"
Bart lowered his eyebrows with an unamused look, "Oh? So I'm just a piggy bank to yo-"
"You don't understand! I gave Earl a hickey!"
Bart had a quivering smirk and began to chuckle, "Oh, it's quite alright, there's no reason you need to buy hi-"
"What!? Bu- but if I don't get him this fast, he'll die!"
Bart shook negatively, "Why?"
"Cause he has a hickey and needs this!"
Bart rubbed his forehead and shook negatively, "I- I- I am so confused right now…" He pulled out his wallet and looked at her, "How is a drink going to save his life?"
Chiya continued to bounce up as she reached for his wallet, desperate to get the money, "Because! It's the only way to cure the deadly hickey infection!"
"D- deadly hickey infection?"
"Yeah, Seppuku says he needed a cherr- er, no, a grape freezy drink so he could turn it into medicine, otherwise Earl would die from the hickey!"
Bart lowered his eyebrows and chuckled, "Chiya…"
"What!?"
Bart grabbed her shoulder and forced her down onto the stool, Chiya was somewhat shocked at how strong he was-somehow able to put her down with one hand.
"Think Chiya, what seems strange about this story?"
Chiya was still trembling, then put her finger on her lip, "Maybe that the cure is a delicious drink?"
"For?"
"Earl."
Bart raised an eyebrow at her, "So you're bringing this drink to Earl when you get home?"
"Well, no, Seppuku needs it so he can…" she then slowly lowered her eyebrows, "…turn it into…" She then became perfectly silent, Bart simply smirked at her, waiting for her to catch on.
Chiya sighed and hit her forehead against the counter, "Oh God, I'm such an idiot…"
Bart chuckled at her and patted her head, "Cup of coffee? On the house?"
Chiya didn't lift her head up, but pointed her finger upward, "I'm gonna' have to take you up on that…"
A while later, Seppuku and Earl were still speaking, now mostly concentrated on ways they could stop Mighty Gazelle from furthering progress in the Grand Prix. Seppuku snapped his fingers and smirked at Earl.
"Got it, bear with me here…" Earl raised an eyebrow at him, "We plant a bomb in Gazelle's machine, and when he starts racing, he explodes!"
Earl widened his eyes, "W- wouldn't that kill him too?"
"Yeah, but, this is for the Grand Prix, so-"
"We're not doing that…"
Chiya then kicked open the door with a furious look on her face. Both Seppuku and Earl looked at her in shock, Chiya stomped her feet together and gave Seppuku a smug look. Seppuku checked her hands for his drink, but found nothing.
"Hey where the Hell's the frostry drink?" Chiya didn't respond to him, rather she began to approach him. Seppuku quirked his mouth at her as she came around his desk, "Welp, guess Earl's gonna' die, good going Flo-"
Chiya then punched Seppuku across the face, sending him right off of his chair. Earl gasped and widened his eyes, immediately grabbing Chiya.
"What are you nuts!?"
Chiya smirked at him, "Sorry."
Seppuku began to chuckle as he stood back up, he was brushing his shoulder off as he looked back at Chiya. Chiya narrowed her eyes at him with a look of discontent.
"Nice punch Flower, usually you can't even send me off my feet."
She smirked at him, "Thanks."
Earl was looking back and forth at the two, then rubbed his forehead, "What did he do?"
Chiya crossed her arms and shook negatively, "He had me believing that a hickey…" she hesitated to finish her sentence, she ended up smiling and swished her hand at Seppuku, "Water under the bridge."
Seppuku gave her a thumbs up, then looked back at Earl, "We were discussing how we're going to deal with Mighty Gazelle without getting caught by the fans, you know, since he's practically gotten first every race so far."
Chiya widened her eyes and beamed at the two, "So how about it?"
Earl and Seppuku looked at her with raised eyebrows, Earl rubbed his chin, "Hm?"
Chiya then smiled heavily and gave them a thumbs up, "How close am I to winning this thing!?" she asked excitedly.
Earl then grunted and dipped his head down, he looked away from her with a saddened look. Seppuku tilted his fedora down slightly. Chiya widened her eyes at the sight of both her friends reacting negatively to the question, her smile then faded away completely. She got a saddened look and sighed.
"I already lost, didn't I?"
Earl sighed and grabbed her hand passionately, "Chi', you're doing great, but you haven't placed that high up too much, not to mention, you placed really badly on White Land."
"Cause Skull cheated!"
Earl nodded, "I'm sorry Chiya…"
Her eyes then began to quiver sadly, she began to shake in disbelief at what she was hearing. Earl was basically saying that she was done for the season. Earl couldn't bear to look Chiya in the eyes after delivering such heavy news, Chiya continued to shake negatively in response.
"No way, there must be some way I can still win!"
Earl and Seppuku both exchanged glances. Earl looked back at her and crossed his arms, "You can, but you'd have to get first place in both of these races…"
Chiya grunted and gritted her teeth nervously, "Oh man…"
Seppuku poked her shoulder, "Earl and me were speaking, and we think it would just be wise to ride easy these last two races…"
Chiya gasped and got an offended look, "What!? Y- you mean give up!?"
Earl nodded, "Chiya, there are twenty-some racers on the track, that means there is a one-in-twenty-so chance of you winning just one of these races," he shook negatively and kicked his foot down, "Even if you did win one, you gotta' do it one more time to win the Grand Prix."
Chiya growled at him, Earl then gasped as Chiya grabbed the collar of his shirt and brought him up to her face. Chiya narrowed her eyes at Earl as their faces came together, "Listen Bendek, that's quitter talk, and a manager is supposed to keep the players from losing morale…" she then let go of Earl and stomped her foot down, "If you want to betray me and call it quits, be my bloody guest, you'll be a wanker in my eyes though…"
Earl grunted and got a sad look, "Chiya…"
"Whether you like it or not, I'm racing, to the best of my damn abilities!"
Seppuku smirked at her and nodded affirmatively, "Idiotic, but very good."
Chiya stomped her foot down more loudly, "You bastard, how am I idiotic? There's a chance to win still! No trying is being idiotic!"
Seppuku continued to stare at her, Earl bit his lip a few times as he stared at the two back and forth. Chiya crossed her arms and closed her eyes, "Two in a twenty chance? Sounds like good odds to me!"
Chiya then gasped as Earl stomped his foot down as well, "Wait, yeah! Why are we thinking of quitting? She can still win this easily if she tries hard enough!"
Chiya smiled at him and nodded appreciatively, Seppuku nodded as well.
"Flower, if you lose this time, I want you to simply back me up in the final race-since I'll probably be one of the top ranking contestants once again."
Chiya nodded at him, "If I lose, but I won't, not this time…"
The two continued to stare at her as she shook her fist in the air.
"This time, I'm focusing on the race, nothing else." She took off her stock hat and wiped her forehead, "This time, the race is mine for the taking…"
To be continued…
