Jesús: "Hello everyone and welcome back for another chapter. Sorry for the long wait, I had some personal business to take care of as well as the other stories I have/will release soonish. Anyway, let's just get right to it shall we…?" [Disclaimer] "…I don't own the RF series nor any of the Anime/Manga/Videogames referenced in this story. All credit for them goes to their respective owners."
Ch. 42
Raguna POV
I showed up at Cinnamon's house at dusk. She was the one to open the door and so I was greeted with a hug and a small kiss on the cheek. We started walking to the staircase and were called into the living room by Mr. Kain and Mrs. Cari before we reach them.
"Something the matter father?" Cinnamon asked
Mr. Kain put the phone back on the phone's stand and then took a seat again before speaking.
"I was talking with Ragna a second ago." He said
"I'm guessing that was him then?" I asked
"Yeah, it was a conversation about something specific. We were both called by some water park. It seems that they'd like for the both of you to work for them." Mr. Kain said
Cinnamon's face flared up in excitement, I can't deny that I was actually really excited myself.
"Upon some discussion between the four of us we've all come to the same conclusion…" Mr. Kain stopped with that face of his telling us it was for dramatic effect. Yup, indeed my father's best friend. "…You two will be allowed to work there on one condition. Keep your grades up. Just because you got yourself a way to get some pocket money doesn't means you can go and be careless about your studies."
Cinnamon then jumped from joy and hugged me in the process.
"Really? Is that really true?" Cinnamon asked.
"Sure is. We said we'd call tomorrow to confirm our decision and it seems Luna did the same." Mrs. Cari said and smiled at the both of us.
"Alright! Sally did it…" I said "…Now we get to learn about sea life and even work with it."
Hang out at Cinnamon's wasn't very long, but we did enjoy it and also made plans to go to the aquarium to visit Sally and the rest tomorrow.
Cinnamon and I met at the main entrance of the aquarium and walked right in. there was plenty of people going to-and-fro and minding their own business. A bit away from us we found Sally who was actually standing on the "Visitors" side of the tank.
"Sally?" I asked as we approached her.
"Oh, hey you two. I heard your parents got called yesterday about working here." Sally said
"Yeah, they agreed to let us work here." Cinnamon replied
"Cool."
"What are you doing here? You don't seem to be working." Cinnamon asked
"Yeah…well… my boyfriend…err…ex-boyfriend…" Sally said and her usually cheerful face dropped completely as a couple tears started rolling down her face.
Sally started bawling and covered her face trying to keep us from seeing it. Once she calmed down she began talking again.
"My Boyfriend decided to break up with me today…" she started "…he just gave that classic cheesy line of "It's not you it's me" and then just walked away. My friends had been talking about how he had been cheating on me and I should just leave him before this happened."
"Why did he leave you?" Cinnamon asked
"No idea. I guess he just up and got bored of me. It's happened before to me, but I really thought he was the one for me this time…" Sally said and looked into the fish tank they were standing next to, which was also the tank was holding the dolphins, among them Flynn, Undine and Bob.
"I'm sorry to hear that." Cinnamon said and went to give her a comforting hug.
"Thanks, when he told me that I just wanted to be alone. But to be honest this guys here calm me down more than being alone…"
I started thinking, how can I help this person, this amazing friend to both me and Cinnamon? I want to help her, but how… That's it!
"Hey you two, how would you like this…?" I started.
Next think we all knew we were in front of an amusement park.
"Are you sure this is fine? I mean, won't I just get in the way for you two?" Sally asked
"What are you talking about? We're trying to cheer you up, so don't think of it that way. Now then come on." Cinnamon said and started pulling on Sally's hand.
After paying for our entrance we first made out way around the park to see what they had to offer. We headed to the rollercoaster and then I saw someone near the rising staircase for the rollercoaster.
"Yo Dan!" I called to the silver headed scientist.
"Hey, Raguna, and Cinnamon too. What are you two doing here?" Dan replied then he noticed Sally standing behind us. "And who is this?" he asked
"This is Sally. She's been going through rough times and we're trying to help her." Cinnamon replied
"I see, so we're in the same boat then." Dan said
"What?" Cinnamon and I asked at the same time
"My little brother recently got ditched by his girlfriend. He was even going to propose to her. But even after four years, she didn't seem to be interested in him. Whenever he was feeling down I would just take him to a theme park and he'd forget all his problems, kinda like instant therapy." Dan said and then a guy that looked, for the most part, the same as him showed up behind him.
"Come on Bro, let's get going." The newcomer said and tapped Dan on the shoulder.
"Allow me to introduce you all. Everyone this is Dante. Dante, this are my friends; Raguna, Cinnamon and…"
"…I'm Celica Harper; everyone calls me Sally, Nice to meet you." Sally said and an obvious blush on her face.
"H-hey there, I'm Dante Straight. Dante is fine." Dante replied with a similar reaction to Sally's
Dan sneakily made his way to Cinnamon and me and spoke softly so that we could only hear.
"I think they would work together perfectly…" Dan said and smirked
"I see it too." I replied and showed my own smirk.
"What do you two have in mind?" Cinnamon asked with confusion showed in her face.
We let the two heartbroken young adults stare at each other for a few seconds and then Dan decided to break the silence…
"*Ahem* Well, since we bumped into them. What do you all say we hang out as a group? I'm sure it'll be lots of fun." Dan said and then the two young adults turned to him at the same time with a flustered expression.
"What are you talking about brother? I'm sure we'd be bothering them if we did that." Dante replied
"Not at all, we're just here to have fun. The more people in the group the more fun we'll have. You know the saying, "the more the merrier," right?" I added.
This time Sally turned to me trying to hide her own flustered expression.
"But this is a hangout time between brothers. We don't want to get in the way of that."
"I don't mind. Besides, if there's not many people then this place becomes quite boring." Dan replied.
After about five minutes of trying to argue for the groups to scatter Sally and Dante gave up and we were all now one big group.
First we started with the simple rides; merry-go-round, bumper cars, etc. This one called the Vortex was interesting, you just sit down on a "Cart" and the ride would just start moving in circles on the rides area, the seat was connected with a spinning joint at the bottom and so with the inertia of the spinning of the machine made the seats spin. We had a blast, it was fun. But now it was time for the "Thrill" rides.
"So then, who should go with who?" Dan asked
"I'd like to stay with Raguna." Cinnamon said while shivering slightly.
"You know I'd never leave you alone if you needed me." I replied and gave her a small hug calming her shiver.
"So Sally, wanna go on the ride with me or Dante?" Dan asked
"Bet she can't go through even one ride without screaming." Dante said teasingly.
"Is that a challenge? It sure sounds like one." Sally replied and the two were at each other's faces with smirks on their faces as if accepting a challenge.
"Alright, then here are the pair-ups; Raguna you're with Cinnamon, for obvious reasons. And Dante, you're with Sally, you gotta keep track over each other's fails right?" Dan said
"Sounds good to me. Though I gotta say, I might lose count." Date said and made a cocky expression.
"Of what, how many times you lose?" Sally said and we all took off to the first ride, which obviously enough was the Rollercoaster.
We took our seats and waited for the ride to begin. Sally and Dante were in the first cart, Cinnamon and myself on the second and Dante was on the third so in short we could all see the two troubled ones.
Not many people got on the ride, but the ride's conductor started the ride.
"Alright everyone, you're all well secured to your seats now. Remember, keep your hands within the cart and have fun…" the guy said and hit the "Go" button.
The ride started climbing up the initial slope.
"This is gonna be fun…" I said
"do you think they'll be ok?" Cinnamon asked
"Sure of it." I replied
On the first cart though…
Normal POV
"Y-you know…there's still time for y-you to call it quits…" Sally said holding on tightly to the additional safety bar.
"What's the matter? Afraid already?" Dante asked ready to burst laughing
"N-n-no…this is just my first Rollercoaster ride…T-this is just excitement…" Sally was shaking strongly and Dante noticed the fear in her eyes.
"Here…" Date said and grabbed on to her hand "…There's nothing to be afraid of. I'm right next to you…" Dante finished with a friendly smile on his face.
Sally's heart skipped a beat seeing how this guy, who she had just met, was being far nicer than even any of her ex-boyfriends had ever been. She stopped trembling and smiled in return.
"Thank you…" she whispered.
"What was that?" Dante asked not having heard what she had just murmured.
"I said is almost go time!" Sally side and continued her previous "Challenging" attitude but in truth… 'Thank you for your support Dante. If possible, I'd like give a chance at love one more time with you…'
The ride went by smoothly, everyone continued to have their fun on the thrill rides. Raguna Cinnamon and Dan continued on every ride to push the two young adults together as if they were a squadron of cupids. Soon enough lunch time arrived and everyone went to the food court to eat. By this time Sally and Dante had grown very close in the short time they spent together, the two now didn't see each other as rivals and just continued to have fun together.
"Well, I leave you and not even a day after you go to another suckers' arms? You're an easy woman." Everyone heard from somewhere behind Sally, specifically, two tables away.
"Zeth…" Sally said and went pale
"Seriously, if this is how it is. Then I guess l those stories you said of "Love" and that sort of Bullshit were in fact Bullshit." The guy called Zeth replied and then approached the group.
Sally sunk into her seat and cowered in fear.
"Well little Sally, don't worry, you don't hurt me in the slightest. In fact I just wanted to see this…Your face after realizing we're done. When I told you this morning I didn't get the chance to get that thrill since you ran away…" Zeth continued and at this point he took a chair from the empty table next to the group and sat closely to her, close enough to make it obvious she was uncomfortable around him.
Raguna and Dan were about to stand up when suddenly…
"So in other words, you just get a thrill out of hurting women for no reason? Pathetic…" Dante said without looking away from the plate in front of him that held a burger/fries combo.
"And who are you to get in this matter…?" Zeth said "…Oh, I get it, you're my replacement…"
"Weather I am or not a replacement is up to her not me. Besides, Sally is a great girl. If wanted me to be just a replacement then I'd be fine with it 'cause she deserves far better than me, and don't get me started on you…" Dante replied and this time he glared at Zeth, who shuddered and slightly backed away from Sally.
"W-what? You think you're big Shit little man?" Zeth asked standing up noticing he was almost a whole foot taller than Dante and slightly bulkier.
"Bigger than you for sure." Dante replied and stood up and now stared at Zeth's eyes.
Zeth backed away a little and then grunted and walked away in an angry manner. The rest of the day was spent as it should have been, fun and games. They ended the day by going to the Arcade located on the main building of the amusement park. While everyone played games Sally and Dante seemed to get far closer than most would have thought they could, Raguna and Dan knew this was their chance for the final push.
"Hey is getting pretty late. You two need a ride?" Dan asked Raguna and Cinnamon.
"Yeah, we didn't think we'd hang out till this late." Raguna replied.
Cinnamon looked at the two confused and didn't say a word as they kept talking.
"Hey Sally. You said you lived nearby right? Do you want a ride?" Dante asked
"No, I can walk from here…" Sally replied "…Thanks for the offer though."
"That's not quite how it should be. A lone lady walking alone at this time, Dante you should walk her home if she wants to walk. I can drop these two off and then go pick you up." Dan said
"Sure, I can do that. If you don't mind that is…" Dante replied finishing his statement towards Sally.
"I don't mind at all. Besides, keeping company can make walking really quick and fun." Sally replied and then the two started heading towards the main entrance.
The two young adults walked in the direction of Sally's home, which was south-west from the park. Dan, Raguna and Cinnamon followed close behind in Dan's car. Suddenly the two turned into an alleyway that Dan couldn't follow in.
"Are you sure this is ok?" Dante asked Sally seeing how there was barely any lighting if any at all.
"I take this path all the time." Sally replied
"Sure, but I bet is during the day time, or at least when there is light. Right now anything could come out of anywhere…" Dante said keeping his guard up for anything.
"You worry too much…" Sally said and continued walking.
Dante continued to follow and suddenly he heard something that to him sounded like people stepping on a slightly quick pace.
"Who's there!" he called and then a dog came from the darkness.
"is just a dog. Like I said, you worry too much…" Sally said and walked ahead of him.
"Wait Sally, don't wander too far!" Dante called to her and then he heard her yelp from surprise.
Dante hurried and ran to the direction Sally's voice came from and surely he found Sally, but she wasn't alone.
"Took you long enough to get here Second man…" Dante heard and noticed Zeth grabbing Sally on an obvious forced manner.
"What are you doing?" Dante asked
"Don't be stupid. You know damn well what I'm doing." Zeth said and licked Sally's face making shriek in both disgust and fear.
"Get away from her if you know what's good for you…" Dante said
"No you see…You stay right where you are if you know what's good for the both of you." Zeth said, pulled out a gun and pointed it at Dante.
"Hmm…a type 54 Black-star pistol, caliber 9mm, great gun in the right hands." Dante said.
"You think you know your deal with guns?!" Zeth yelled and pulled the trigger on Dante's direction.
The shot missed and hit a trash bin quite a distance behind Dante.
"Now, was that a warning shot or were you being serious?" Dante asked "…'cause if that was you being serious that was a horrible shot. This is how you're supposed to shoot a gun…"
Dante quickly moved his right hand and pulled a gun out. He quickly shot it in Zeth's direction and unloaded the whole clip on the wall next to Zeth's head making the shape of a "G" on the wall.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Zeth asked slightly afraid.
"Never said I was done did I?" Dante said and quickly pulled a second gun out as well as reloaded his first gun and unloaded the two clips on the same wall.
He then added an "O" and exclamation point writing "GO!" on the wall.
"Now is that enough, or should I write that on you?" Dante said and Zeth took off into the darkness of the alley…
At least he tried, before he could get too far Dante stopped him on his tracks by shooting near his feet and then continued talking.
"Now listen here. You can say whatever you want to me. You can call me weak all you want. But you never lay a finger on a woman. If you ever come close to Sally with the intend to pull this little stunt again, I'll make sure to at least put one of these bullets in one of your legs. That or injure you with a blade of some sort, whatever I feel like it. In any case, you've been warned. Now go…" Dante said and Zeth left while screaming like a banshee out of pure fear.
Dante took a second to make sure Zeth was indeed gone and once he made sure he wasn't turning and making another move he turned to Sally.
"Hey, you ok?" Dante asked back on his playful voice and offered a hand ho pick her up.
"Y-yeah. What was that about?" Sally asked
"A bit of a long story…Here…" Dante said and handed Sally his jacket.
"Huh?"
Sally replied and then noticed how Dante kept looking away from her. Out of instinct she looked down to herself and noticed her top had been ripped almost completely off and her bra and most of her frontal body was exposed. Instantly she put the Jacket on and zipped it up.
"Thank you." Sally said and then turned back to Dante.
The two continued their walk and soon enough they reached Sally's house. Dante and Sally said their good-byes and then he turned to walk away.
"Hey Dante…" Sally started making Dante stop and turn to her giving his full attention. "…W-would you mind if I got your c-contact info?"
"Sure thing…" Dante said and reached into his right pocket to pull out his phone. "Do you have infrared?"
"Y-yeah…" Sally replied
They took a couple seconds and then both phones bleeped signaling the end of Info exchange and both put their phones away.
"Alright, I'll talk to you later then." Dante said "And if you need anything. Don't hesitate to ask. I'll help regardless of what the problem may be."
"Thanks. I'll return your jacket next time." Sally said
"Don't worry about it. You can keep it, it suits your style." Dante said.
The Jacket had a long main frame and had two ways of closing; 1) Zipping it up, the way Sally had. And 2) with a couple belts that made a cross shape near the middle of the torso. The jacket itself was red with some black belt buckles every here and there. While the jacket looked overly complex and extremely uncomfortable it was actually the opposite and also quite warm during the winter times.
"Are you sure? It looks really special…" Sally tried to argue and Dante just replied with a -Is fine, if I need a Jacket I can just get myself another one.- and with that Dante took off after saying good night once again and left his jacket on Sally's possession. "Dante…I'm sure you're going to be completely different…"
A few minutes after dropping Sally off, Dante reached a traffic light and his phone started ringing.
"'Sup Bro?" Dante spoke as he answered the phone.
"Hey, about to head back for you. where are you at? So I can pick you up and head home right away. I can also stop somewhere to pick up dinner on the way. What do you want?" Dan responded
"I'll keep my GPS on so you can track me. As for food…Surprise me. I'm sure everything will have a new taste from today on…" Dante replied with an honest smile on his face.
Jesús: "Sorry for the extremely long wait. I guess you can call it Writer's Block, but in fact it was just me being lazy to type; too much stress from work, too many new videogames obtained and wanting to play them all and lastly, just helping all of my friends with their stories…I'm kinda the editor of the group (Which surprises me because my "spell check" ability sucks). Anyway, Sorry this was a complete filler chapter, I tried making it as entertaining as possible. Now, I'll start working on the new chapter as soon as possible and release it the same, hopefully in standard scheduled time. I hope you all enjoyed it and come back next time for another update. Please leave a review telling me what you think and I'll see you all later."