Yeah, this was supposed to be up about three days ago, but it kept deleting itself (much to my annoyance as I was almost finished twice) but here it is. Thanks to those who reviewed and for your patience as I've has some technical difficulties.
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**two weeks after Pixie gets hurt**
Striker sat beside Pixie's bed, his post until she awakened. He had offered to take this position, against his better judgment, and had waited here for two weeks. He could leave, get another post somewhere else, but something told him he shouldn't, something tugged at his heart as he looked at her so helpless so he stayed.
They had resorted awhile ago to force feeding her broth and water to keep her alive, her comatose state leaving her without the ability to move her muscles at all. Still, he had seen this before. Armored Dragons would use stronger attack because their brute strength would completely knock out monsters and humans alike for weeks or even months at a time. There were rumors of weak monsters getting hit by a Flaming Sword, and remaining unconscious for years at a time. Pixie wasn't weak, though, and something like this shouldn't have kept her down for so long...
A shadow fell over his shoulder, causing him to look up in surprise as he saw General Holly standing in the doorway. He got up quickly and stood at attention, waiting for her next order.
"At ease," she said, walking past him to stand at little way from Pixie's bed. "Did I scare you?"
"No," he lied quickly. He should have sensed her being there in the first place long before she was at the door... "I should have been paying more attention.
"It's ok," she said with a shrug; "I didn't say anything to announce my presence."
Striker shook his head, turning to face Pixie so she couldn't see the look of disgust for himself on his face.
"How is she?" asked Holly, unaware that he was inwardly berating himself for having let her do that. "Has Pixie ever woken up yet?"
"No, ma'am." Striker sat back down, Holly still standing with her back to him slightly. "She's not woken up yet. I'll stay here until she does."
"You can take me up on that offer still, and be reassigned to your unit once more," said Holly indifferently, shifting her feet on the floor. "You don't have to do this you know..."
"But I want to," said Striker, almost looking at her pleadingly before he could stop himself. "I mean...um, I have something I want to ask her..."
"What about your training?" asked Holly, ignoring his blunder for the moment. "Aren't you worried you'll get behind the others?"
Striker smirked at this, a cocky look on his face. "Not really, ma'am, you see-"
"Hmm...." Striker was turned towards Pixie in a flash, all of his attention focused on her. She sat up quickly, opening her eyes only to shut them from the sunlight that came in from the open tent flap. They fluttered for a moment, trying to focus themselves. She licked her cracked lips with a dry tongue, feeling it stick to the roof of her mouth. "Wa...water....." Striker steadied her with one arm and poured her a glass with the other, quickly bringing it to her lips. Pixie slurped and guzzled it greedily down, letting some of it spill down her face and soak the collar of the hospital like gown she wore.
"Whoa, steady, steady," said Striker, making her slow down and not get herself sick from drinking too much at once. "Hang on, there's plenty of water and it's not going anywhere, so just slow down..."
Pixie finished her water and gripped Striker's arm with one hand as she rubbed her eyes with the other, trying to finally get them to focus properly. "Pixie? Do you know who I am?" asked Holly gently, coming and sitting beside her so she was facing both monsters at the same time. "How are you feeling?"
"Holly....is that you Holly?" asked Pixie groggily, shaking her head to clear her head of the fog that surrounded it and get past her basic senses once more. "Where am I? I don't remember- Tori! Is she-"
Striker grabbed a hold of her gently as she tried to get out of bed, casting her covers to one side. Avoiding her bandages and bruises, he immobilized her and clamped a hand over her mouth, quickly talking gently in her ear.
"Tori is fine. You're back at the camp, and she will be back here soon. The dragons are gone, I made sure of that. Trust me, you're both fine, I brought you back to the fort and here myself. Relax, everything is now fine..." He let go of her as he felt her relax in his arms, leaning on his slightly for support.
"Thanks. I needed that."
"..........you're welcome."
"How are you feeling?" asked Holly again, looking Pixie straight in the eye. Hers were unusually soft and gentle, brimming with concern as she brushed some of Pixie's hair out of her eyes. "You did take some hard hits out there..."
"Sore," replied Pixie, stretched some to take a quick inventory of her injuries. "I'm not certainly not as young as I used to be..."
"How soon before you can walk to your room?" asked Holly, a small smile forming on her face. "We need you to get out of the injured tent and back into yours before Genki and the other two get back or he'll go charge after Ironfist in a fit of rage. I'd have this fellow carry you for me, but some might get the wrong idea..." Striker went red under his dark skin as Pixie fought to keep her own blush down as well.
"That's what I aught to do," muttered Striker under his breath, only Holly catching what he said. She wisely didn't say anything and waited to see how things would play themselves out.
"Give me three, four days," came the rough reply, Pixie stretching out her legs as she did. "I should be able to in four days at the most."
"Good, they're not expected to return for another week and a half at the least from the fort. That'll give you an extra week before they arrive."
Pixie unexpectedly swung her feet over the side of the bed and planted them on the ground, using the bed to steady herself as she stood up. Striker frowned and opened his mouth to protest, but stopped because of the glare Holly gave him. Pixie would have to test her bounds for herself without someone there to baby her as she went.
She took a few shaky steps forward, getting stronger as she went. Turning around, she said, "See? Maybe I'm not quite as old as- wha!" Only Striker's lightning reflexes saved her from falling flat on her face. Both blushed at being so close as he picked her up like a baby and put her back on her bed, walking over to the door for a moment.
"I guess you won't be trying that again today," said Holly, watching the pair's actions closely. "Tell me about what happened when you went after Tori, he refuses to tell me anything at all."
"Ok, well..." Striker turned and watched at the two talked, listening to their conversation as his head swam with thoughts and emotions. At least any fears he may have had about Pixie being partially awake while he spoke with the Armored Dragons as she retold the tale as best she could. {It would be so easy to do it right now} he reasoned, his instincts taking over momentarily. {Before things get anymore out of control...} His heart battled with is head, he had not even thought about his missions until that moment, until he saw the perfect opportunity to take out one of his targets without any witnesses at all. Pixie would have to die too, but what would that matter? {Everything} said a small voice in the back of his head. {To you it would mean everything in the world....and you know it too..."
"Striker?" asked Holly, snapping him out of his thoughts and back to reality.
"Yes, General?" he replied, standing at ease.
"I'm going now. Take care of her until she feels she is ready to walk, and make sure no one disturbs her unless she asks to see him or her."
"Yes, General."
"Holly?" said Pixie suddenly, just as Holly was about to walk out the door into the path.
"Yeah, Pixie?" Holly had stopped and turned around, a thoughtful look on her face. "What is it?"
"Are there any openings in the listings? For Captains, that is?" Pixie had a scheming look on her face, making Holly wonder what she was up to.
"Two. We lost them in the battle for the fort. One in light infantry, the other in the heavily armed warriors. Why?"
"There's my suggestion for the Captain of the Warriors," said Pixie, jerking a thumb at Striker as she turned over and fell asleep. Striker didn't move from where he was, staring at her still form.
"Very well, Striker report to Sub-Commander Xelir when this is done and tell him I repositioned you there. He should have notification of it by then."
Striker's face betrayed his surprise. "Yes ma'am, General Holly. Thank you, very much." He turned back to staring at Pixie.
Holly turned to leave and came back a second time, a small smile on her face as she did.
"And Striker?"
"Yes, ma'am?"
"Wipe your mouth, you're drooling. Again."
Striker looked in surprise to see a small pool of saliva gathering on his pants from his mouth and quickly wiped it away. It wasn't his fault the hospital type gown thingys didn't leave much to the imagination. "Oh.....sorry..."
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Holly wondered if she was doing the right thing as she stood at the entrance of her tent, seeing Striker's shadow through the tent wall as she leaned over the still sleeping Pixie. Not that she didn't trust him, but was she encouraging something that could cause a problem in the future. Employer/employee relationships that went beyond friendship usually didn't work. Then again, Pixie wasn't technically a Commander, just an influential power in the army itself. Still...
She shook her head and walked into her tent looking at the Phoenix mark on her hand as she did. Being in charge wasn't easy, it wasn't fair that those who were in power couldn't have a private life of their own.
Seeing the stack of work on her desk that awaited her, Holly pushed the thoughts from her mind and set to work. Those things would have to wait until later when she actually had time to think about them...
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Pixie woke up much later that night, Striker helping her sit up the moment he saw her stir from her slumber. Her stomach growled loudly before either one could say anything, each looking amazed at just how loud it was. "Well, I guess that says it all," she muttered, smelling some good near by. Striker just chuckled and placed a tray on her lap uncovering it to show some chicken and vegetables. "Good," said Pixie, "I was going to scream if it was soup...."
"I already ate," said Strike as Pixie gave him a look, pointing to his empty dishes on a near by table. "You've been out for several hours again."
Pixie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, me and my beauty sleep....."
"Not that you need any." Striker turned his face away when he said this quiet settling over the two as Pixie ate some of the food she had in front of her and Striker wondered what was with his mouth getting away with him recently.
"I have a question...." They said at the same time out of the blue, looking up at each other out of embarrassment when they realized what had happened/
"Oh, I'm sorry, you-"
"No, that's ok, you can-"
"But you-"
"Ah, ladies first."
Pixie smirked at him, remembering all the times that phrase had gotten her into trouble. "I'm no Lady."
"Depends on whom you talk to. Now, what did you want to ask me since you're going first?"
Pixie sighed and pushed her tray away, staring at her hands. "I wanted to know...how did you get us away from those Armored Dragons? Me and Tori, is what I mean. Look at me, I came out in a coma, and you with out a hardly a scratch. But how?"
"Those guys were pushovers," snorted Striker without thinking. "It didn't take much to scare them off." Seeing pixie dart a glare at him, he added, "But I'm sure you softened the up for me to begin with, taking the brunt of their power." He sighed and tried to think of a quick answer as she began to stare a hole in his head. "I ....I'm part monol, right?"
"Yeah, so?"
"Well, I have this ability to create huge illusions at times. I just made one of huge Death Dragon that was taller than the trees that they scattered within a few seconds."
"That makes sense," admitted Pixie, nodding her head. "So, you just scared them off?"
"Yeah."
"Ok..........I've got my answer. What did you want to know?"
"Huh? Oh....yeah. You see, I was wondering....."
"Wondering....?"
"Why did you suggest my promotion like that? With me being right there and everything?" Striker paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts. "I mean, that could have been a dangerous thing to do..."
"How?" Pixie gave him an odd look, picking up her bowl and chopsticks once more. "Do you mean with you going and telling someone and making a huge fuss?"
"Um, yeah..."
"But I knew that you wouldn't do something like that," explained Pixie, tasting some vegetables almost thoughtfully. "If I read you right, you wouldn't be prone to making a spectacle of yourself."
"Read me right?" Striker raised an eyebrow. "What, like my book or something? My mind? What are you talking about? How?"
"I....well, some full-blooded pixies, well, they have this ability," said Pixie, setting aside her food once more, furrowing her brow in concentration. "We see other pixies, partial and full-blooded, with this aurora type thingy. The aurora has different mixtures of colors, but it takes awhile before you understand how to read others properly because no one is just one color and you have to figure out what each color means to the person."
"What colors do you see me as?"
"Grey and blacks with some dark greens here and there, but not in a scary way," answered Pixie, popping a carrot in her mouth. "Sort of shadowy and secretive, but in a way that makes you feel at home, or safe."
"Right." Striker thought about it for a moment, then asked, "How did you get this ability?"
"Well, it was necessary, in my past, to survive...."
"Being one of Moo's top Generals who started at the bottom of the ranks," finished Striker, freezing when he realized he let that slip.
Pixie sat there for a moment, breathing heavily. "You....you know about.......my past...?"
"I....was a part....of your past."
"I'm sorry."
"I'm not."
Neither one said anything else as Pixie put aside her bowls, laid down, and fell asleep.
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Holly walked by the tent Pixie was staying in, wondering if she should go check on her friend. It had been two days since she had seen her, leaving her in the care of Striker until she could take care of herself on her own.
She stood in the doorway and watched as Pixie hobbled around the room, being assisted by Striker as she did. Not saying a word, she learned what she could in the few moments she had before they would eventually figure out she was standing there.
"Easy, easy does it. Now lets turn around, head back to the bed, and take a break for awhile," said Striker, letting her lean on him as they went.
"What makes you think you could dictate my actions?" demanded Pixie.
"What makes you think you can stop me?" asked Striker with a small grin.
She shoved him away weakly, trying to walk back to the bed herself. "Ha, see? I don't- Ahh!" Striker once again caught her and pulled her to her feet, holding her close so she wouldn't fall.
"Old lady," he teased, helping her to the bed.
"Be nice to your seniors, boy."
"How old are you, really?"
"Guess."
"Not a year over 25."
"Flatterer, 36."
"Really? You don't look it. I'm 34."
"Well, neither do you."
He helped her sit on the bed, the long pants she had borrowed from him completely covering her feet. Holly cleared her throat, causing the couple to look up quickly. To Holly it looked like to little kids who had been caught doing something they shouldn't.
"Morning," she said, not saying anything about what she had just seen. "Striker, go sit outside for a minute."
"Yes, General Holly." He gave her a quick salute and walked out the door, closing the tent flap behind him.
"Having fun?" asked Holly as she sat in Striker's seat. "I hope I wasn't interrupting anything...?"
"Hush, you," growled Pixie, her smiled betraying her true feelings. "You weren't interrupting anything at all. You know me better than that."
"Do I?"
"Be nice."
"I don't have to be, elder or not I'm the General."
"True...true..." Pixie's smile turned to a frown as she thought about something, almost like a cloud covering her face. "Holly, he knows."
"He knows what?" Holly made a face, thinking of all the possibilities that could be. "Pixie, you have so many secrets, I've forgotten half of what you told me already."
"He knows about my past," explained Pixie, hugging her knees to her chest. "Holly, what if he..."
"Has he threatened anything?" asked Holly quickly, anger flashing in her eyes. "If he has, I'll-"
"No!" cut in Pixie quickly. "I don't know how he knows or even how much he knows, I didn't ask at the time and I don't think he meant to tell me."
"Then ask him."
"But what if-"
"Pixie, you're starting to sound like me 10 years ago."
"And you used to act a lot like me 10 years ago." Holly grimaced as she heard that, thinking about what she meant. "Holly, you know you scared me for awhile there, it's only since Genki came back that you've started to act like yourself again."
"What makes you think it has anything to do with him?" asked Holly defensively, forgetting about what they had just been talking about.
"I didn't say that it did," replied Pixie pointedly. "It's just been since he's arrived that I've noticed this change. But it's only around me, isn't it?"
"You....you know me so well that appearances don't matter," lied Holly, shrugging her shoulders. "It does in front of the others, it always has."
"What about those times-"
"General," said Striker, sticking his head out the door. "There's someone here to see you."
Holly sighed. "I'll be right there."
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Pixie sat eating her lunch later that day, pecking at this or that until Striker asked her for the fifth time if she was ok. She nodded slowly, chasing a noodle around her plate with her chopsticks. He took them from her and made her look him in the eye, holding her arm with his hand so she couldn't get away.
"What is the matter?" he asked slowly. "I won't let you eat until you tell me, and it'll make you feel better in the end, trust me on that one." Pixie just looked away, her eyes an unreadable swirl of emotions. "Fine," he said, keeping the chop sticks with him. "Don' eat." She just took the bowl in her hands and began to slurp the noodles from the edge, taking care not to get the sauce all over her face. "I give up," growled Striker, throwing the chopsticks next to her on the bed. "Be that way if you will."
"How much do you know about my past?" asked Pixie suddenly, picking up the chopsticks and using them to eat her noodles.
"Um, a lot," replied Striker, shying away from the details. "Why?"
"Explain what 'a lot' is," said Pixie, forming a ball of fire in her hands after setting her dishes aside. "My legs may not want to work very well, but my energy levels are above normal and I could easily blast you through that wall." Striker sweated, backing up away from the bed. "Tell me now."
"I....I will if you put up the fireball."
"Promise?"
"Uh....yeah."
"You do know what I do to liars, right?"
"Do I want to know?"
"Probably not."
"I promise."
"Good." Pixie let the fireball dissipate from her hands, picking up her dishes once more and ate what was left quickly. "Start talking, pup."
"Um, ok..." Striker leaned back, wondering how he had gotten into this mess to begin with. "I....I joined Moo's army when I was just fresh from the disk and was put in a training camp with other pixie breeds to develop my skills for Moo. After that I was put in an all pixie breeds unit in Moo's private army."
"And...?"
"You were in the same unit as me." Pixie's eyes went wide with shock.
"You, you were? I don't remember you though, and someone like you would be hard to forget..."
"I went by Shadow, then," explained Striker, grimacing as he did. "I was one of the-"
"Assassins," finished Pixie, her eyes showing a glimmer of remembrance. "Shadow, the only assassin who managed to scare the hell out of me at night with his illusions. The only monster who scared me period other than Moo. You swore you'd kill me after I beat you in that competition, the one that got me promoted into the spot that later lead to my Generalship."
"Yeah..." Striker looked away as he backed even farther away from the bed. "I had completely forgotten about that until now. But I followed your progress through the levels of Moo's Army, but I could never make any headway myself. No one needed a talented assassin, there were hundreds of them. Fighters like you, though, with a cold heart and the ability to lead and take commands, were as rare as jewels." He stopped and thought about it for a moment, nodding his head as he did. "I probably need to thank you, if I had won that fight, I would've been the one promoted, and the one time I was given the chance to command I totally screwed it over."
"How did you manage to stay alive after making such a mistake?" asked Pixie, "Or did you not and when the Phoenix revived the lost disks you came back?"
"I managed to stay alive by running and when the Phoenix changed everyone back to normal, I went and settled down in a village," lied Striker. "See? My story isn't much different then yours. I killed just as many as you did, only I did it myself instead of through others. I have had to deal with the memories, but I've found the easiest thing is just to-"
"Forget. Forget it like it never happened and hope it never comes up at all in the future."
"Exactly."
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Striker walked along the edge of the camp, his mind a swirl of emotions and thoughts. He had just reported in for the first time, him having gotten his new uniform and promotion that day as proof. Ironfist was happy with his work so far, but he was now required to take out the Phoenix boy's brother and the brother's little girl friend. That could be a bit more difficult...
Shaking his head to clear it of his thoughts, he tried to focus on his job, focus on the mission that had brought him here. Pixie had returned to her tent a week ago, and the Phoenix boy was due back with the other two any day now. With his new position, he had a legible excuse to be around the four of them as often as possible, but still things didn't feel right. Was it just him, or was it getting harder to choose between what his head said he must do and what his heart told him was right...
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Genki walked into Pixie's tent, Tori and Tai right behind him. "Oh, Pixie!" he called as he went in, a huge smile on his face. "We're back!"
"Genki? Is that you?" called a voice back from the bedroom. "Hang on a sec." They heard the sound of clothes rustling around and soon saw Pixie emerge from her room in her usual uniform, a huge smile on her face.
"Pixie!" cried Tori, running to give her a hug. Pixie practically picked her up and held her close, glad that both of them were alright. "You're awake! We were so worried about you after what had happened..."
"I'm fine, see?" Pixie reassured her, pulling back and pushing some hair out of the girl's face. "Nothing can take down this Pixie, as old as I am."
"You're all better then?" asked Genki, giving her a hug.
"Yep, Genki. How have you been? Heard you were given a huge job helping clean up the fort and all. How did it go?"
"Fine. They were well back on the way to being completely operational and ready for anything when we left," replied Genki, smiling at his two helpers. "These two, though, were part of what made it so easy."
"Thanks, Genki," said Tori, bowing her head in response to the praise.
"Genki can't do anything right without me, so I have to be there to help him at all times," said Tai with a smirk. Pixie just grinned and mussed up his hair, getting a small growl from the young boy.
"I just had it fixed the way I like to too," he muttered under his breath, trying to fix it again.
"Leave it," said Tori, "It looks fine."
"Why would I care about some girl's opinion?"
"Maybe it's because it's the girls you're trying to impress?"
"....good point."
Pixie laughed as a familiar male silhouette in a Captain's uniform with a tray in his hand came in the door, not even bothering to announce his entrance as he did. "Hey, Striker," said Pixie, giving him a warm smile. "You're early with dinner, for once."
"He brings you dinner?" asked Genki, a puzzled look on his face. "I thought you were well now..."
"I am," said Pixie, "I just prefer to eat here until all of my injuries are completely healed.
"Oh..." She went over and uncovered the tray, surprised to see four plates of food instead of the usual four. "Striker, why are there four?"
"The General saw me on the way to the kitchen and said Commander Genki and his two helpers were back, so I thought that you would want to eat with them," explained Striker, bowing politely.
"Thank you," said Genki, taking the tray from him. "That was very kind of you."
"What about you, Striker?" asked Pixie, "Do you wish to join us?"
"No, I already ate," he replied somewhat regretfully. "I'll be back for the dishes later, ok?"
"That is fine."
"Hey, he's the one who saved Pixie and Tori," said Tai, suddenly remembering where he had seen that monster before. He went over and whispered to him, "Thanks for saving Tori. She's one of my friends and Genki would be sad if we lost her."
"You're welcome," Striker whispered back. Out loud, he said, "I'd better get going, I'm supposed to be at a meeting right now."
"Ok, then, bye," said Pixie, giving him another warm smile. Genki saw the look that passed between the two and came to some conclusions of his own, deciding to act on his instinct.
"So, Pixie, looks like you and him are pretty close," said Genki in an off hand manner, trying to have some tact for once.
"Just ask what it is you want to know," replied Pixie, giving him a look. "You're horrible at trying to hide things from others."
"Fine, be that way," he said, grinning boyishly. "Do you like Striker or not?"
"As a friend he's one of the best," replied Pixie, keeping her face completely blank.
"And as more...?"
"No." Pixie played with a some of her dinner on her plate, keeping her eyes downcast.
"You're lying."
"And if I am?" asked Pixie, raising an eyebrow as if to challenge him. "You can't prove anything."
"What if I go talk to him? Maybe ask him what you two have been doing while I was gone?"
Pixie scowled at him. "Nothing at all. He's been bringing my meals and helped me out when I was stuck in bed for a few days, that's all." {Not that I don't wish it were more...} she added mentally, immediately banishing the thought the moment it had come.
"Right..."
"Genki!"
"Alright, alright. I believe you!" He wiped his mouth and pushed his dish aside, having finished in record time. "Thanks for the food. I have to go see Holly and give her a quick report, ok?"
"That's fine. I'll keep these two with me and you can come pick up Tai after you're done."
"Hey! We can take care of ourselves, you know," said Tai, pouting as he glowered at the thought of being babysat.
"I'd rather you stay here anyways," said Genki. "I'll be back soon, ok?"
"Fine..."
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Holly was sitting in her tent working on some maps when Genki walked in, a file in hand. "General," he said, going to attention.
"You're not required to do that, Genki," said Holly coolly, glancing up at him briefly. "Sit down, we can talk in a minute."
"Ok." He sat down across from her and shuffled threw the file he held, making sure he had everything in order.
"Alright, then, what did you want?"
"Here's my report on what went on in the fort and the repairs and changes that were made," explained Genki, handing her the file. She looked threw it, nodding her head as she did.
"Impressive. You actually got this much done or is this some estimated repairs that were going to be made after you left?"
"Those were the repairs we helped with while we were there. Tai and Tori helped with the actual manual labor, even climbing on top of the walls and filling in the gaps themselves."
"That's what is says here. Good." She shut the file and put it on the corner of her desk. "Anything else you need?"
"Yeah, actually, what do you think of Striker?"
"As in relation to what?" asked Holly, knowing exactly what he was talking about. She had been waiting for him to ask, having sent him with the meals while Genki and the other two were there.
"Pixie. They seem close..."
Holly nodded. "I assigned him to help her out after we got back. They've become good friends, I know. Why do you ask?"
"What would you say if I said I think they're more than friends?"
"Do you have any proof?"
"Does interpreted looks and body language count?"
"No."
"Then I don't. But, seriously, Holly, I think she likes him more than she's letting on and it's mutual as well."
"Pixie's a big girl," said Holly with a shrug, getting up and walking over to the table where she kept some juice and fruit. "She can take care of herself so I'm not going to worry about it." She was about to dismiss him when she added, "And you'd better not get involved either."
Genki sighed. "Fine...I have to go get Tai."
"Ok, I'll come see you about your next assignment tomorrow."
"Yes, ma'am." Genki walked out of the tent as the wind ruffled his hair and clothes, reminding him once more than he was no longer home in Japan...
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That's it. What do you think of Pixie's new pal? Confessions, romance, some silliness too, what more could you want? Let me know in your review and maybe it will happen. Thanks once more for your patience and maybe such things as technical difficulties won't happen next time.
~crosseyedbutterfly~