(BUTCH'S POV):

The same room. The one that was dark and filled with nothing. All I could do was sit on the floor and stare at the shadowy creature in front of me. The piercing look that it gave me wasn't one of hostility or malice. It was more of a curious fascination.

"So what the hell are you supposed to be?" I asked.

All it did was point at me. I didn't make any other movements nor did it choose to speak.

"Alright...So what exactly are we doing here?"

He reached into a forming hole in his chest and ripped out a sheet of paper that said contract at the top.

"You want me to sign it?"

He nodded before handing me a small dagger. I already knew what to do with it.

"I have to sign it with blood...Okay then...I'll do it!"

The tip of the blade plunged deep into the skin of my palm. The red liquid slid down my index finger as it dripped.

"Sign...it…"

It's all I had to do. I'd keep the power and I'd never get hurt like that again. I'd be exactly what I was supposed to be.

"Sign...it...now!"

My finger touched the burning hot paper and started moving. As quickly as I started, I stopped. My finger wouldn't move anymore. My name wasn't finished yet. I couldn't make the contract official.

"I can't do it!"

"...Sign it! Now!"

The creature's arm shot forward and grabbed my neck. It's dark green eyes were now filled with hatred.

"What are you...doing to...me?!"

"YOU HAVE TO SIGN IT! SIGN IT BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!!!"

Two white doors appeared behind me. The one on the right opened up with a group of hands reaching out to pull me away from the shadow.

The creature sat there and watched me go with the contract remaining incomplete.

"What about our deal? You agreed, didn't you?"

My eyes flew open as I returned from whatever nightmare I was in. Automatically, I noticed that I was in an unfamiliar place. A bright green bedroom, and extremely soft bed, light snoring on the right hand side of-

I turned my head and looked at the girl that was resting beside me. She was just laying there like this was normal. Was it a prank? I couldn't really tell. All I knew was that this wasn't normal! I wanted answers!

"HEY BUTTERS! WAKE THE HELL UP!"

"..." She grumbled a few swears but remained asleep.

"Is she serious? I SAID WAKE UP-"

Before anything else could be said, I was silenced with a heavy punch that threw me off of the bed. I held my bleeding nose and glared at her.

"WILL YOU SHUT UP FOR A COUPLE OF MINUTES!"

"Dammit! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU HITTING ME FOR?!"

"Obviously I was trying to SLEEP!"

"NEXT TO ME?!?!"

She paused for a moment before turning her head away. "M-maybe you were the one laying down next to me. Yeah! That has to be it! YOU FREAKING PERVERT!"

"WHAT KIND OF CRACK ARE YOU ON?! I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW I GOT HERE!"

"Sure you don't! I wouldn't put it past a weirdo like you to break into a girls house and sleep in her bed."

"HA! Trust me Butterbutt, I would rather break into a radioactive shark tank then YOUR room anyday!"

She turned to me with rage in her eyes. "How's that chest of yours doing, asshole?"

"I don't know you Hercules built bitch! It seems perfectly fine! Speaking of chests, how's yours? Looking a little flat from where I'm sitting."

She beamed the pillow at me and stomped out of the room. I don't know why she's so pissed off. She's acting like I kidnapped her!

I walked out of her somewhat messy room and looked around. If this is where the Powerpuffs lived then they had the good life! This floor alone was huge! There were so many rooms. I could get lost in here

A towel flew onto my face while a hand grabbed my arm and tugged me down the hall.

"Where are we going?"

"Take the stupid towel off dumbass."

I did as she rudely told me and looked at the place with amazement. This was the bathroom?! It was big as hell in here!

"Don't tell me we're talking a shower together. You could at least buy a guy dinner first. Then again, you already slept with-"

"You say another word and I'll drown you in your own fluids!" She hissed.

"So why am I in here?"

"To take a shower! It's called being clean you barbaric freak."

"Whatever! You gonna watch me get all naked or you gonna step out?"

She flipped me off before walking out. "Put on some underwear and a robe, then come downstairs when you're done. Don't take forever!"

I gave her a mock salute. "Aye-Aye captain She Devil!"

She slammed the door shut and left me inside to shower. The warm water rained down on me in a way that was hard to describe. The droplets pounding against my bare skin felt like thousands of tiny footsteps running along my body.

The soap that they had smelled way more pleasant than any I've smelled before. It was definitely making my skin smoother. All in all, the shower was pretty damn good. I did take note of the stitched up mark on my chest. It didn't bother me. It just stood out.

The more I scrubbed the more at ease I felt. That was until a random wave of nausea and dizziness hit me. It lasted for about five seconds before it went away. I don't know why it happened. It was most likely from my injury or something. I didn't dwell on it for too long. No use thinking about something like that.

Once I got out of the shower, I went over to the tattered clothes that I had left on the floor. They were some of the only clothes that I had. The shirt had a blood stained hole in it, the pants were slightly ripped and my only pair of shoes were scrapped up. What an absolute joke.

I put on the only pair of boxers left on the rack and the white bathrobe with it. It was pretty comfortable stuff to walk around in. I felt light and free!

I was now on my way downstairs after leaving the world's best bathroom. I gotta say, the more of the house that I saw, the more incredible it was.

I headed towards the large kitchen and saw Buttercup sitting at the island counter with a bowl of cereal. She had her phone in one hand while she watched a video.

"Yo!" I called out to her.

She pointed over to the box of Frosty Flakes. "Not the best cook so that's breakfast…

"Seriously? What do you have in the fridge? I can probably whip up something decent."

She started laughing for whatever reason. "You honestly think that I'm gonna let you cook in my kitchen? You'll probably just burn the place!"

"I'll have you know that I'm a great cook! You're uncultured taste buds would be lucky to try anything from me!"

"Like hell! Sit your ass down and eat the damn cereal!"

I rolled my eyes but did as she said. "Okay! Gosh mom, relax!"

"You're so annoying."

"This is such bullcrap…" I poured the cereal and gave it a nasty look.

"What's your problem?! It's just a bowl of cereal. All you've gotta do is pour the milk and eat it!"

"That's the problem right there! I hate milk! That shit is disgusting!"

"What are you, five? It's just milk. It's not gonna kill you. Don't you wanna grow up big and strong?"

I glared. "No way! I'm not putting that in with my cereal!"

She sighed. "You know what? Do whatever you want! Eat dry cereal for all I care!" She went right back to her video.

"I think I will actually." I started digging into the disappointment that I called my breakfast. This was complete trash! The fucking flakes kept stabbing my gums! I hated it! Was nothing but crunch.

"You're such a child! I swear you and Bubbles both need to grow up."

"What? Does she hate milk too?"

"Not milk. She hates vegetables. Like, she literally will not touch them."

I raised a brow. "What is she, a tree hugger?"

"Beats me...You finished with that?"

"Huh? Oh yeah." I slid her my empty bowl and watched her put it in the dishwasher. "Speaking of Bubbles, where is she?"

"Her and Blossom went to school already."

I started grinning at her. "Oh so you're skipping school now?"

She shrugged. "Isn't the first time and I can promise you that it won't be the last. Besides, someone has to watch your crippled ass."

"If this is crippled then I want to know what healthy is. I feel great!"

"That's most likely due to the chemical X injection that Blossom gave you."

"Oh sweet! No wonder why I feel so much more energetic than usual."

"Yep...Don't get too used to it. You probably won't be getting another one of those. I still haven't told the professor about it yet."

"Understandable. I owe Blossom big time then. Gotta think of a way to say thanks. You got any ideas? I don't want it to sound all lame. She pretty much revived me."

She folded her arms and scoffed at me. "Are you kidding me?"

"What?" I asked. She was acting all pissy about something again.

"Just forget it asshole! Figure out how to tell her yourself!"

"I'm trying to be nice to someone for helping me! What the hell are you in a bad mood for?!"

"I swear! You're in the top five biggest idiots known to man!"

I glared at her before getting up and standing in front of her path. "Is it that time of the month or something?! I cannot possibly see how I did something wrong here!"

"Probably because you're a bona-fide dumbass! You really think that my sister-" She paused and pushed me aside. "Forget it. I don't even care anymore!"

"Good! There's nothing to care about!"

She moved towards the living room sofa and grabbed a gaming controller. She angrily turned on the TV and went right to some shooting game.

I sat on the opposite side of the couch and glared up at the screen. "What's this all about?"

"Shut up! I'm trying to focus and you're very good at distracting me with your stupidity."

She was shooting a ton of random players from all sides of the map with an assault rifle. I wanted to stay pissed off at her but I have to say, she has good aim. She was mowing through everyone with her M16. At least I think that's what she's using.

"Damn...You are wrecking their shit."

She smirked. "I know."

"What game is this?" I asked.

"It's called Veterans Day. It's an fps multiplayer game. The campaign is apparently based on a real war story or something like that. It's actually pretty cool."

While she was talking, a random player sniped her from atop a watchtower.

"You died…"

"I know that smart guy!" She growled.

She kept trying to get to the chump in the watchtower but every time she got close, he popped her right in the head.

"Wow...That guy's a bitch."

"Damn right he is! He's just camping up there the whole match! Why the hell are my shit teammates not going after him?!"

"Throw a frag up there." I suggested.

"I can't get close enough to arc it in all the way!"

A soon as she turned the corner, she got dropped again. "That is so trash…"

She grabbed her headset and viciously put it on. "Hey dickface! Ever heard of playing the game?! Yeah, you should try it instead of being a complete pussy the whole match!"

"You tell him." I said with a snicker.

Her response from the guy was another bullet to the skull. He even dropped down to T-bag her corpse before climbing back up.

"I swear to God, I will destroy you!"

"Hey now Butterbuns, settle down. Leave the loser alone." I said. I couldn't stop laughing at this. A Powerpuff Girl was yelling into her gaming headset because of some random guy on a game.

Once the game ended, her team lost and the camping asshole was at the top of the leaderboard with fifty-two kills and one death.

"I wanna fight that guy."

I looked at his name and sighed. "You got beat by a random guy named [DRTY]KingDingaling. That's rough."

"Shut the hell up Butch!"

"Okay! Okay! Chill out and let it go."

"Whatever! We're getting out of the house. Between you being borderline retarded and that douchebag camping, I think I need some fresh air."

"Oh yeah? Where to?"

"To get you some clothes for starters. Your old ones are no good and you can't keep wearing the same thing every day. "

"You got something I can wear on the way? Don't think a bathrobe is publicly decent."

She nodded. "C'mon."

I followed her back to her room. She already had on some black sweatpants. She threw on a bright green hoodie and some matching sneakers. She opened up a drawer and pulled out a black tank top that said Mitch on it.

"Okay, what the fuck?!"

"What? It's a shirt. Put it on!"

"No way! I refuse to wear a shirt with another man's name on it! Especially that shitbag's name!"

"Hey! Watch it! Mitch and I go way back, okay."

I narrowed my eyes. "What is he, your boyfriend or something?"

"What's it to you?"

"It's nothing to me. I'm just asking a fucking question."

"Will you just put the shirt on already!" She shouted.

"You like him don't you?"

"WHAT?!"

"I'm not wearing your boyfriend's shirt Buttercup! You don't think that's weird."

She stomped over to me and shoved the shirt into my arms. "Let me make this clear for you. Mitch and I are NOT dating! I don't know why you're so obsessed with that anyway. We're best friends!"

"Tch...Whatever!" I took the robe off without any hesitation.

"W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

I halted my putting on the shirt and stared at her confused. "What?"

"Are you for real? You're in your underwear! You could've let me leave the room first!"

I rolled my eyes. "So you willingly sleep with me but you're all nervous when I'm partially naked? Man, your priorities are unreasonable."

"Will you cut that out! I told you already that it wasn't my fault! YOU snuck in there!" She growled. Her red face gave her away.

"Still going with that same bullshit story?"

I put the shirt on and grabbed some green basketball shorts from her. Her face was redder than a tomato. I don't know why she's being so weird about it. Not like my junk was out.

"I'm curious. Why do you have that asshat's shirt anyway?"

"We went swimming in the pool out back. He just left his shirt…"

I felt like she was leaving out some details but I opted to ignore it. "So you guys have a pool too? Makes sense I guess. You've got practically everything in this place."

"Yeah pretty much. If you want, you can swim when we get back."

"Appreciate the offer but I don't have any trunks."

She shook her head. "That's why we're going to the mall stupid! You obviously need clothes so we'll pick up some swimming stuff while we're out."

"Makes sense I guess." I slipped my shoes on and followed her outside. "So which way do we go?"

"I'll lead the way. Just try and keep up."

I could tell when she was challenging me. She wanted to test my speed so going fast wouldn't be a problem. Fine by me. Screw going slow! Once we lifted off of the ground, we blasted off into the clouds.

Honestly, she was extremely fast. While I could in fact keep up with her, she would have constant bursts of speed that would put her ahead. Once we got to the front mall, we were both completely out of breath. Only difference was that she was smiling and I was not.

"Score one for me and zip for the loser!"

"Oh shut up! I let you take the lead."

Her smile grew wider. "Such a gentleman. Too bad that gentleman is a loser."

"You know, there's a thing called being a sore winner, right?"

"Who cares? A winner is a winner!"

I walked past her and made my way inside. The place was pretty packed for a school day. Made sense with all of the stores. Thankfully people didn't seem to mind my presence. They sort of just ignored me.

"So where to?" I muttered to myself.

"I don't know...Anything stand out to you?" Butters asked.

"I'm not sure. You said I needed clothes right? Should we start with that?"

She shrugged. "It's only 9 AM. There's no real rush. Besides, everything's on me."

"Look, I'm not all that into shopping so I have no idea where to go."

"Alright, thanks Mr. No Help! Let's head over to the GameLab."

"Why there?"

"Because I said so. Also because I really want that new Death Eternity game."

"...Death Eternity?"

"It's a game where you're this badass soldier stuck in Hell and you brutalize hordes of demons with some sick weapons!"

"So you're murdering demons the whole time…" Why does that rub me the wrong way?

"Pretty much. This is the game that's gonna hold me over until Devil Won't Die 5: Stylish Edition, comes out. I can't wait."

"What's up with you and slaughtering demons?"

She pinched my cheek like I was a little kid. "Calm down Devilman. They're just games. I'm pretty sure the developers don't even believe demons exist."

Once we walked into the store, Buttercup wasted not even a second in order to get her game. While she was at the counter, I was standing by one of the TVs. There was a fighting game loaded up. The word Start was flashing on the screen. I picked up a red controller and hit the start button. It took me to the character selection screen. Only four fighters were available though.

*CHOOSE YOUR FIGHTER!*

"Hmm...Kai looks pretty tough." He was a dark haired man with a black martial arts gi and a gold headband.

*SELECT YOUR STAGE!*

There was only one stage available so I selected it. The place was some back alley behind an old bar. My opponent was a redhead dude with a dark blue baseball cap. He had on a vest and jeans. His name was Ryan

*ARE YOU READY? FIGHT!!!*

My first instinct was to start button mashing. That regrettably didn't get me anywhere. I decided to slow down my pace a bit and actually start doing the correct inputs. By the time the first round ended, I had gotten the hang of his more difficult combos.

*ROUND 2! FIGHT!!!*

I went ballistic on Ryan's sorry ass. I got him with a seventeen hit combo before ending it with Kai's special. The Triple Dragon Uppercut! Ryan dropped to the floor lifeless.

*K.O.*

"HELL YEAH!" I whooped that guy easily! To think I got the hang of it that quickly.

Butters came back with her bag of stuff. She clearly bought more than just the game. "I see you're enjoying Fatal Fighter 4. Scoot over and let me grab the other controller."

The way her eyes lit up at the sight of the game was like that of a child on Christmas. She instantly picked the Chinese character Kim-Li. I ended up picking Kai again, along with the stage.

While the game loaded up, I decided to take notice of the distance between the two of us. Our shoulders were right up against each other. I don't know why but it was oddly comforting. In a therapeutic sort of way.

Don't get it twisted! I still hate this chick. I mean, she's annoying, always quick to get mad, more stubborn than a goddamn mule, and above all else...She made me confused. More confused than I've ever been. I just can't get a read on her. The way she acts makes me think that we're close. Maybe even more than just close, but it still always goes back to us bickering. She made me lower my guard and that brought out a side of me that I didn't show most people. The more carefree, playful kind of guy. I don't know how she does it or why it keeps happening. It just does!

"Ready to take another L?"

"..." Did she say something?

"Hey turd muffin! You still on Earth?"

"What? Yeah, you dumb gorilla. You better not take me lightly either. It's my first day and I already mastered this game."

"You beat the CPU on normal. I'm in a whole league of my own." She said with a smirk.

When I tell you that I almost blew up that entire store, I mean it! Her constant boasting alone could drive a man to commit genocide. She just wouldn't shut up!

"Can we please just go to another decent store without you SHOUTING THE SAME THING IN MY EAR?!"

"Aww, calm down Butch. You only lost forty-eight times."

I was gonna kill someone today. "Stupid sore winner ass…"

"Tell you what! Since you were such a good loser, why don't I take you to one of my favorite stores?"

"What is it?" I asked with a twitch in my eye.

"Don't worry. It doesn't take forty-eight losses to find it. We just have to go down the escalator."

"I really hate you right now."

"That's sweet. Feeling's mutual loser."

As she said, we went down the escalator and walked towards a place called Shock Topic. I had absolutely no idea what the hell was in there.

"Why this place?"

She nudged me. "Two reasons. First, it's got some cool clothes that you might like. Second, I'm friends with the employees here."

"Whatever you say Butters."

Once we crossed the threshold of the store, she was already greeted by the staff.

"OMG! Buttercup it's been so long!" A chick with her hair dyed pink on one side and blue on the other hugged my counterpart and started squealing. Found it pretty annoying, not gonna lie.

A man with black, thick rimmed glasses, a partially shaved head and a few piercings came jogging over. "Damn BC! I was wondering when you were gonna stop by again. What's been happening?"

She laughed nervously before hugging them back. "I'm so sorry you guys. I've been busy with work and school lately. Haven't been out as much."

"Totally understandable. I can't be mad at you. I mean, you are skipping school right now so who gives a shit?" The girl said.

The guy noticed me and walked over. "Looks like you brought company."

The girl ran right up to me and grabbed my hands. "You wouldn't happen to be her boyfriend would you? OH! I'm so glad to meet you! I'm Paige and He's Drew! Wow you're in really good shape which makes sense because you're dating the toughest fighter in the world so I'm sure that you'd have to be pretty strong in order to even stand a chance with someone like Buttercup!"

"I...Wait a second...What?" I was so confused right now.

"Pump the brakes Paige! That's just Butch and NO we are not a thing!"

"Ah, so you're just friends then?" Drew asked.

"No! I mean yes! Well, it's complicated." Why did that sting a little?

"Well that's no fun! So what are you two complicated acquaintances doing at the mall?"

"We're just shopping for clothes. He's kind of a broke bum."

"Fuck you too." I spat back.

"Does he need a job? He can definitely work here!"

"Sorry toots, but I'm already employed."

BC let out a huff. "Yeah, he's trying to get back on his feet."

"What happened? Is everything okay?" Paige asked.

"I just got out of juvy."

"Juvy? Holy shit man! What did you do?" Drew asked.

"A bunch of stuff that I probably shouldn't say."

"Wait a second!" Paige started examining me from head to toe. "Dark green eyes...Jet black hair...YOU'RE ONE OF THE ROWDYRUFFS!"

"Keep it down Paige! I don't want people freaking out." Buttercup quickly said.

"Buttercup! Isn't he the guy you said you were waiting for?" Drew asked which piqued my interest.

"I NEVER SAID THAT!"

"Yeah you did. You said that you-"

She quickly ran over to Paige and covered her mouth. "Stop talking!"

Drew walked over to me and pulled me aside. "Why don't I show you some of our best stuff…"

I spent about fifteen minutes picking out a bunch of shirts and hoodies. They had a ton of cool designs and I made the most of my time. Buttercup true to her word paid for it all.

When we walked out of the store with the multiple bags, she insisted on us going to the food court.

"You know it's only like half past ten right?"

"Just shut up and carry the bags. I'm starving!"

"But you ate like two hours ago."

"I said shut up, Butch!"

The smell of various different foods hit my nose. I could smell Chinese food, pizza, Mexican food, and a burger joint. It all smelled way too good. I wasn't even hungry before. Now I was on the verge of drooling.

"Damn...I kinda like how those burgers are smelling right about now."

"Then go grab something at the Beef Shack. I'm gonna go over to the Hut of Noodles and get my usual." She handed me twenty bucks before walking across the food court.

I moved over to the burger spot and looked at the menu. The first thing that stood out to me was the Double Stacked Bacon Cheeseburger Supreme...with pickles. I decided to order that and a strawberry milkshake. Why? Because I was ripped on the outside while being fat and happy on the inside.

The guy and the cash register handed me my food and I took it to the table that Butters was already sitting at. I pulled up a seat that was across from her and started digging in.

"Wow dude...You want some patty with all that grease?"

I wiped my face with a napkin and shook my head. "This is delicious! I love how it's clogging my arteries! God it feels good!"

"You're gross." She said.

"What did you order?"

"Just some shrimp lo mein and a couple of fried pork dumplings."

I started eyeing her food before asking. "Mind if I try some of that?"

"What?! No way! You've got your own food!"

"Oh come on Butters! I'll give you some of mine." I offered.

She glared at me before snatching my milkshake and putting her lips around the straw. She took a couple of large sips before putting it down and sliding it back over to me.

"There! Now what do you want?"

"Hmm…" I reached a hand out to grab a dumpling only for it to get smacked. "Ow! What the hell?!"

"Don't start shoving your hand in my food!"

"I was only taking one!" I shouted.

"It doesn't matter! It's still my food!"

"How else am I supposed to eat it?"

She grabbed her chopsticks and lifted one up. "Open you stupid mouth…"

"Wait, are you about to feed me?"

She closed her eyes and pouted. "No! Well sort of. I mean it's not that big of a deal. Do you want it or not?"

I leaned my head forward and opened my mouth. I watched as she carefully moved the dumpling to my own set of lips. I gladly took it and started chewing it. The thing had a slight crisp on the outside and a really chewy filling. I had to admit, it was pretty damn good.

I grinned. "Thanks for that. I might get some of those next time." She looked surprised when I said that and I wasn't sure why. "What's wrong? Something on my face?"

"N-no. It's just that you said next time. It almost sounded like you wanted to do this again."

"I uh...I mean it wouldn't totally suck if we um...You know, hung out or something. Not that I care or anything. Just saying for your sake."

She didn't respond right away. She did however do something that I wasn't really expecting. She was smiling. Not some cocky grin or a sarcastic smirk. No, this was one I've never seen before. It was, dare I say, a genuine smile. Like she was happy about something.

"I don't think I'd completely hate that. Dumb loser."

I glared at her. "The hell you call me?"

"Forget it." She said with her smile still there.

I didn't notice it at first but things seemed oddly chill when I was with her. Yeah we'd still go back and forth all the time, but for whatever reason, I had grown to find some form of enjoyment from our strange dynamic. It was even to the point where I was openly talking to her about things.

"Why are you squinting at me like that?"

"No reason. Just thought about something funny." She cleared her throat. "So you wanna tell me the story between you and Brick?"

"What's there to tell? He is an ass and I'm not. End of story."

"You do realize that I saw him in the nurse's office not too long after we all left the lunch table yesterday right? I'm pretty sure he didn't do that to himself."

"What is this? Some kind of interrogation?"

"Relax dude. Just curious is all. If you're gonna be all bitchy about it then don't tell me."

I sneered at the table, contemplating what I wanted to say to her.

"...It's a bunch of stuff. Honestly I don't even know where it all started. Ever since I became HIM's little passion project, I just get the feeling that he's still trying to one up me."

"One up you how? With what?"

"With everything! He thinks just because he was the leader, he's automatically the hotshot of the group. I can't stand when he gets all control freak on me and Boomer. It just reminds me of how spineless I was back when we were younger."

She gave me a sigh as she clasped her hands together. "This might not be my place to say it, but I will anyway. Brick really does care about you Butch. When he saw you in your critical condition, he was really upset. He begged for Blossom to give you the dosage of chemical X. You may not think it, but he does try to be there for you."

"What is this? Are you taking his side now?!"

"There are no sides! I just want you to understand that your actions have consequences too. I may not see the whole picture, but I know how important family is. I don't always get along with Blossom. Eventually, we work things out. I can't really tell you what it'll take to reconcile your brotherly bond. All I know is that if you don't do it soon, it will only get harder for both of you."

She had a point. I didn't hate Brick. I just hate the thought of being underneath him. He was always treated like the head honcho. When someone talks about us they mostly mean him. Even the other villains saw him as the superior instead of us all being equal. All I want is my goddamn respect.

"I'll try to talk to him, okay? I know we shouldn't go down this path. Especially for Boomer's sake." She started laughing again, which ended up pissing me off. "What could possibly be so goddamn funny?"

"I'm sorry...It's just that...I never thought I'd see you talking like this. It's almost scary."

"Gee thanks, asshole! Tryna have a real conversation here and you decide to laugh."

"Chill out you big baby. I'll let you ask me something if you want."

Ask her something? What did I want to know from her? I wasn't sure. Part of me is still so confused about a lot of things. For starters, my biggest rival was slowly becoming the person I could really spend time with. On top of that, she's actually talking to me in a way that's not degrading. A way that gave me value as Butch Jojo. Not just Brick's slightly younger brother, the middle child, HIM's secret weapon. I was myself. It reminded me of how Blossom spoke to me all those years ago. She told me that I could be whatever I wanted to be. Back then, those words resonated with me. I held those words with so much weight and yet they seemed hollow in comparison to me having an average talk with this girl across from me.

"What do you value most in people?"

She raised an eyebrow at me. "What kind of question is that?"

I shrugged. "You told me to ask something, so I did."

"What do I value most? What am I supposed to say, their heart? I don't know what I value most! Why'd you have to ask such a dumb question?"

"Off the top of your head. Just say whatever."

"I guess how they carry themselves. The only thing I hate more than Morbucks, is someone who lies to me. Being real with yourself looks way less pathetic than being someone you're not. Doesn't matter how sucky their life is."

I gave her a toothy grin. "Figures you'd say that."

"What? Is that not the answer you wanted because I meant what I said."

I shook my head. "Nope. I'm glad you said that. It just makes sense. You're the realest person I know."

I could swear I saw her cheeks going red before she turned her head away from me. "S-shut up you weirdo!" She quickly stood up from the table and started walking off. I got up and followed after her.

We ended up going to a few more clothing stores and a shoe store. I managed to stop at a place called Cap Crew and grabbed a hat that stood out to me. That was about it. I had everything that I needed now.

"Alright! This seems like more than enough."

"You sure there's nothing else you want? You know it's only 12:30 right?"

"Appreciate the offer Butters, but I'm good."

We flew back to her house at much slower speeds, as to not drop anything on the way. I gotta say, today was the most fun I've had since being released. To think I've been all moody since that day. All it took was a day with the chick that drove me nuts. I swear, nothing makes sense to me.

The minute we touched down on the ground, we entered her house. We pretty much left the bags by the front door and plopped down on the couch.

"So, you still up for swimming?"

"Meh...Not really. Unless you're throwing on some nice looking bathing suit of course."

She flung a couch pillow at me. "I hate you so much."

"Why don't we have a little spar?"

"You wanna spar with me?! Why would you?"

"Isn't it obvious? You're really strong. The toughest person I know actually." She seemed disappointed by that. It wasn't the reaction that I thought she was gonna give.

"I'm not as strong as you are Butch. The minute your body transforms, I'm nothing to you. Even when that random guy showed up, I was helpless."

"Stop it. Of all the people that I've fought, you're still the most difficult that I've faced. You've beaten me more times than I can count. No one gives me a run for my money like you do."

"Even if that was true before, it's not the case now."

"Spar with me and see for yourself. For as long as we've been counterparts, I've never heard you back down from a fight." I said with a determined look.

She got up and gave me a slight smirk. "You really want a fight that badly?"

"Don't you? I mean, I've been waiting three years to fight you again. You said that you'd be training hard so show me what's up."

"Alright you win. I'll give you one good round. That's it."

"Cool with me."

Honestly, Brick and Blossom would've flipped their shit if they saw what we were doing. I mean property damage aside, the fact that I was fighting again despite coming from a terrible injury was more than enough to set them off.

That wasn't really all that important to me at the moment. I was kind of going overboard with Buttercup and for whatever reason, it led to us brawling all over Townsville. We weren't just beating the absolute shit out of each other either. We were going back and forth with insults like how we normally would. Forget this being a simple one round spar. This mess was more intense than a flaming cage match. It was almost like we were both sworn enemies again.

The way we were moving would make us seem like random blurs in the sky. Every clash created shockwaves that parted the clouds above. It was great. I missed this! I could tell that she did too. I was hoping that I lit a fire inside of her because she damn sure did that to me.

I blocked a kick aimed at my chest only for her to quickly retreat and seemingly vanish. As quickly as she retreated, she reappeared. With blindingly fast speed, she clocked me straight across my jaw. I flew down the street and through the glass of a convenience store window.

I wiped the blood from my lower lip and flashed a wicked, almost devilish smirk. "That's exactly what I'm looking for!"

I jumped up and out of the shop. She was waiting for me with her hands on her hips. "You need a minute or are you good?"

My response was to kick her in the face. Her head whipped back which opened up the opportunity for me to double her over with a well placed hook to her body.

Before I could follow up, she sent her head crashing into my face. I fell back and directed a bloody grin at her.

"Finally!" My eyes glowed ever so slightly. I could feel my heart beating rapidly in my chest. That instinct to fight consumed me and I very much embraced every bit of it!

"You actually getting serious now?" She asked with freshly cracked knuckles. Her confidence was overflowing and I was glad. She was getting into it just like I wanted.

"Don't get all cocky. You barely did anything to me!"

"Whatever you say." Her eyes started to glow almost like mine had.

I charged up a little power in my left fist and slammed it down into the asphalt of the street. Less than a second later a large burst of green energy shot up from underneath her.

She quickly flew up and away from it. As she was distracted, I dashed up and kicked her straight into a parked vehicle. The alarm flared out as she ripped herself from the brand new dent that decorated the hood of the car.

"Didn't peg you as someone who used tactics like that Butchie Boy. You ACTUALLY have a brain in that head of yours!"

I scoffed at the shitty nickname. "I do whatever the hell I want in a fight. Keeps me from getting bored."

"Is that so?" She yanked a stop sign from the sidewalk and smacked me with it, tennis style. I skidded on to the opposite sidewalk with a grin still on my face. "Seeing how you're flat on your ass, I suppose that means I can do whatever I want too."

I didn't even bother with a comment. I sprang up from the ground and tackled her while grabbing her neck in my hands. She tried to free herself with rapid punches to the face but I didn't budge.

"Get off me you fucking weirdo!"

I smirked at her with a brief twitch in my eyes. "Sorry about that. I actually like you better when you're under me."

"Is that...You're idea...Of flirting..?"

I just shrugged. "Call it whatever you want while I'm choking you out."

"Don't...think...I'm…" Her face was visibly blue. Her eyes started to close and her talking finally ceased.

"You dead yet?" Holy shit. Maybe I should stop.

"Tch...No freaking way. You really finished already?" Please don't let her be dead right now. Did I really get carried away?!

"...You wish...Asshole…"

I raised a brow before taking a blast to the face. My grip loosened just enough for her to flip us over. She smirked triumphantly before decking me across the jaw.

I spit out a tooth and let out a chuckle. "You still hit like a bitch."

"Thanks! That means a lot coming from the guy who's getting his ass kicked."

"Don't push your luck. I've been going easy on you." I admitted to her.

"Yeah sure! I totally believe everything you said." She spat with obvious sarcasm.

I grabbed the back of her head and pushed it dangerously close to mine. I looked her dead in those surprised emerald green eyes without a hint of hesitation.

"Listen to me when I say this Buttercup. Unlike you, I'm not a hero. I don't care what happens to other people while we fight. I'd blow up every building in the city before I let our battle get interrupted. I forgot how much I live for this rush. Fighting is in my blood along with the power from HIM. Sure, I could kill you...But why would I? This is bringing back way too many good memories." I need to get myself under control. This wasn't one hundred percent me talking right now.

"...Butch let go of me!" Her cheeks flushed a bright red. I couldn't tell why though. She probably was pissed just off. I didn't really know in the spur of the moment. I don't think I care to be honest.

"No." I said firmly.

"I mean it. Let go!"

I grinned yet again. "Why should I?"

She sighed and looked right into my eyes. Then I felt a sharp pain in my groin. Turns out she buried her knee into my unsuspecting nuts. My hand dropped from her and reached down to caress my injured private parts. She wasted no time flipping off of me and glaring.

"D-don't ever do that again! What's gotten into you? You're starting to get all weird you freaking psycho!"

"Ngh...But you smell so damn good. Can't really blame me for wanting a little whiff." I tried to laugh but I could only manage a sharp wince.

She offered her hand and I gladly took it. As much as I wanted to punch her, she surprisingly enough managed to get my head back on straight. We'd been at it for hours. Another two and I might've lost control. For whatever reason that bastard side of me has been pretty quiet today. Instead of him nagging me, I just felt random pangs in my head and chest. I didn't know what was wrong with me either so I couldn't do much about it. Hopefully it went away by tomorrow.

"Are you ready to head back?" She asked.

"Yep...Another hit to my man parts and I might end up half the man I used to be. Also, fuck you for that."

She shrugged and lifted off of the ground. I followed behind her all the way back. The others were more than likely waiting for us by now. I mean, we were fighting for nearly five hours. It got rough.

"Hey dummy! The mayor might call about the damage. If Blossom asks later, just say there was some random villain we had to take care of."

"So we're lying now?" I asked with a small chuckle.

She turned her head back and gave me a deadpan expression. "Do you really feel like getting chewed out by my overly responsible sister?"

"Absolutely not."

"Good! Now shut up and keep flying."

We didn't even get to land before Brick and his counterpart ran outside and started shouting at us.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?! FIGHTING IN THE CITY, BUTCH? RIGHT AFTER NEARLY DYING YESTERDAY!" Brick snapped.

Blossom pointed right at her sister. "You're not off the hook either Buttercup! I already know it was the both of you fighting again. Don't try to make up another one of your lame excuses!"

"Whatever you say Blossom." BC said with a huff.

I clasped my hands behind my head. "Calm down Brick. It wasn't even that serious!"

"For your sake I hope it's not because tomorrow you'll be cleaning up THE ENTIRETY OF THE DAMAGES YOU CAUSED!"

"Bullshit! It's Saturday!"

Butters snickered from the side. "Sucks to be you tomorrow."

"I wouldn't be laughing right now because you'll be joining him, Buttercup!" Blossom quickly added.

"For what?! It was mostly him that wrecked the area! Plus it was HIS idea to fight in the first place!"

My left eye twitched with building anger. "ME?! YOU SMACKED ME WITH A GODDAMN STOP SIGN! YOU SCREWED UP JUST AS MUCH AS I DID!"

"LIKE HELL! YOU WERE THE ONE THAT-"

"BUUUUUUUUUUTCH!!!"

I turned towards the front door and saw Boomer flying at me. He literally tackled me into the front lawn and pulled me into a ridiculously tight hug.

"GAH! Boomer get the hell off of me!"

"I'm so glad you're not dead! I can't believe you got attacked! When I found out, I wanted to hunt down whoever did it to you! Thank God you're alright!"

"Yes! I'm perfectly fine! NOW GET THE HELL OFF OF ME BEFORE I KILL YOU!"

He looked at me with tears in his eyes. "I never thought I'd be happy to hear those words again."

He wouldn't move, so I just let him continue to wipe his snot and tears all over Mitch's crap ass shirt.

"Look at us! The gang's all here!" Bubbles said cheerfully. She stepped over to me after Boomer finally decided to give me some space.

"Glad you're not dead." She whispered before kicking me in the shin.

"Are you serious? WHY?!"

"That's for making me worry!" She shouted. She then decided to kick me again.

"What is wrong with you?!"

"That's just to make sure you're not a ghost."

I glared hell at her. "The first one would've already confirmed that." I said through grit teeth.

"Oh yeah...SO WHO WANTS TO WATCH A MOVIE?" She said, quickly switching subjects.

Buttercup patted my shoulder. "Friday night is religiously movie night at our house so there's no real avoiding it. Bubbles is way too adamant about it."

Guess a Friday night movie wouldn't be so bad. Especially since I had to help repair the damages tomorrow. Might as well try to enjoy this.

A/N: This is the longest chapter I've written so far. I hope you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Chapter 9 should be out sometime soon so stay tuned for that.

I want to give a quick thanks to everyone that has reviewed. Your feedback and suggestions really do help me craft ideas for more fleshed out chapters. I really do appreciate it!

Thanks so much for reading! I'll see you all in the next one!