(A/N: I lied in my profile.  Well, I took today's snow day to write Chapter 4 of this wonderful story.  Guess what?  Some other Chrono Cross characters are going to show up in this chapter.  Disclaimer is the same as always.  Who cares about it anyway?)

Chapter 4: First Lessons in Fan Distraction?

"That's all your carrying?" questioned Rhonda from the doorway.

I looked at her and shrugged.  My bag already contained 10 sandwiches, 3 canteens of water, 4 boxes of matches, and some healing elements along with sketch paper and sharpened pencils for the lesson.  What else did I need?  We were only going for 3 days.

Grabbing my bag deftly with one hand, she ripped it open, shoveling out all the items inside.  As she repacked the bag, she threw in 3 more sandwiches, forks and knives, napkins, another set of clothes, and a blanket.  Why a blanket?  She soon answered that question herself.

"You don't expect to be sleeping at the inn, do you?" she said.  Honestly, I thought we would.  Isn't Arni only a few miles from the beach?  It wouldn't be too expensive, definitely not with his high-class living.  "Van's a strange guy," she added.  "He doesn't like people a lot, though for some reason he's opened up to you."

I was a bit surprised.  Van seemed like a crazy guy, full of energy and ready to attack me with his witty comments.  I would think that he would not have much trouble socializing, even with the horrible introductions at the beginning.

"I don't know what you did to him, but he's suddenly become a monster!" she exclaimed, dramatically waving her hands outward.  I laughed, and so did someone behind me, his alto rumble startling me as I turned around to face a…Van and a monster bag beside him.

"I mean, look at the amount of stuff he carries," she said, setting my bag beside his.  "He didn't believe that 15 sandwiches would be enough for the trip.  He's eating and expending energy at such a rate that we could go broke really soon," she sighed, faking depression.

"Oh, come on, Rhonda, don't be so mean!" Van responded.  "I can't control my roller coaster appetite."

"But you're 18 already!  You're supposed to be a man," countered Rhonda.  It was the perfect opportunity to jump in.

"He's no man," I said.  "He's such a coward, allowing a girl 4 years younger than him to beat him up."  I pretended to pummel him with a display of fists.  He pretended to be hurt, and put a hand to his chest dramatically.

"You wound me.  Now all I can do is lie my monstrous body on my monstrous bag," wailed Van as he sank down onto his bag, which seemed…nice and comfy?

"You suck," I said, pretending to punch him.  "Just how much of your bag is fluff?"

"How about 95%?" replied Van with a smirk.

This time I punched him, real hard, right in his stomach.

*****

"I hate going up slopes," I complained as we traveled across the rocky terrain of Fossil Valley.  On the side of the pathway worked some geologists, studying the rocks and bones of the creatures that had lived before.  I personally think that it would be a boring job…digging through rocks all the time.  To know that the chance you will discover anything important is very slim and still do the job…that definitely wouldn't be me.  I need some sort of gratification regularly or I'd probably give up.

"Hate this place too," Van agreed.  "It always looks the same to me."  Whoa…and I thought Van would come up with some crazy "artistic" explanation for why this place should be appreciated.  Guess he isn't as far off from me as I thought.

We waved to the geologists, some who didn't even notice us and others who scowled at us, as we passed by them.  One man was bothered enough to ask, "What are you two kids doing here?"

"Field trip," said Van plainly after a while, not straying his eyes from the path.  The man tried to look at Van's face, but Van's bangs covered his face, and he didn't look up once as the man was scrutinizing him.

"You look like that boy my daughter has on her wall.  Van Dillogne, wasn't it?  I don't see how she can like such an artist like him, not even mature yet, but he does have quite a bit of a fortune already…"

"We're just passing through.  Going to Arni, which we hope to reach sometime soon," I interrupted, smiling.  "We're sorry for bothering you."

I think I caught the man off guard, for his rambling came to a sudden halt as he looked towards me.  He then looked back at Van, who still wasn't looking at him, and glared at him.  After a second, he said, "Okay, just making sure."

After we were a comfortable distance away from them, Van stopped walking for a moment.  "What?" I asked, even though I knew he was going to say something anyway.

"I don't like him," he stated, with little emotion behind it.  I think that was obvious.  So what?  I didn't feel the need to say anything, and neither did he, so we stayed silent for a while.  Then he started walking again, with longer and quicker strides, like he needed to get somewhere.  I almost had to run to keep up with him.  Finally, when the ridges of bone seemed to cease and the grass began, he plopped down and sighed.

"Lunch time," he said, smiling.  Then in a swift motion, he ripped open his bag and grabbed one of the sandwiches.  I took more time, but my actions were the same.  Wow, Rhonda even made sandwiches taste good.

No one talked until we were both sufficiently filled.

*****

"So what exactly am I going to do on this 'field trip'?" I asked Van, who was lying in the grass with his head resting on his bag.

"You're going to lie in the sand and get a suntan," said Van with that sarcastic mouth of his.  I mean, it was so evident that he was being sarcastic that he might as well call me "stupid" or "blockhead".

"No really, what will I be doing?" I asked in earnest.  He pretended that he was thinking really hard, which made me want to beat him.  He was purposely doing this so that I would have to beg him for the answer, but I would not give in.  I just stared at him, well more like glared at him, for a minute or so before he replied.

"You're going to distract my fans while I try to paint a picture of the beach," he said.  Was he lying again just to spite me?  I looked at him with a "I doubt you" kind of look, and it seemed like he was winning the battle, with a blank look to match it.

Until he just started laughing.  "Well, also I'm going to teach you to sketch landscapes," he added.  So that might be why he took me to the beach.  I heard that it's a really pretty sight, with the cleanest sand and water in all of El Nido.  I wonder if the water looks as blue as the site from Van's balcony.  If it was better, I couldn't wait to see it.

"But first we should get up and reach Arni Village," said Van.  "We've rested long enough."

In one quick motion, he was on his feet and going down the grassy plain.  He didn't even wait for me to gather my stuff, that bastard.

*****

The afternoon sun was beating down on us when we saw the signs of the buildings of the village.  It definitely had the "village" air…kind of like Guldove in a way.  The smell of fish being roasted over a fire filled my nostrils as the town was only a few thousand meters away from us.  It wasn't very big…it had an inn, an item shop, some other houses, and a harbor/port of sorts.  My town had more of a trade-based economy, with lots of goods coming back and forth from Termina and other cities of Porre.  This town seemed more self-sufficient.

As we entered the town, Van and I made as little noise as possible, but it didn't help at all.  Just one tiny girl noticed us, and it sent her scurrying to her babysitter.  "Leena!" she cried.  "It's a…weird stranger!"  The young girl hugged the young woman's leg as the woman looked at us.  Then, as if someone struck her, she suddenly gasped.

"You're…Van Dillogne, am I correct?" said the woman.  Van looked a bit uncomfortable as he nodded affirmatively, trying to avoid the woman's stare.  But the woman soon turned her attention back to the girl, who had also begun staring at Van.

"It's okay, dear," said the woman, patting the girl's head.  "He's a famous artist, and not out to get you."

"Famous?" the girl questioned tentatively at first.  But then as if the word's meaning struck her, she squealed, "Famous!  I met someone famous!"

The woman looked apologetic as she hauled the girl away from the scene.  I could tell that Van was a bit embarrassed…the heat was enough to fry me.  Though it seemed one problem was taken care of, another one soon came.  This time it was a flock of girls, ready to grab and tear Van into shreds.  Van gave me a "help me" look as he searched for a place to flee to.  I didn't know what to do, but seeing him drop his fluffy bag and sprint off somewhere to the left, I decided I would block them somehow.  It was hard to think especially when the crowd of girls was about to attack me.  As they closed in on me, I saw that it wasn't me they were after but the bag.  I must keep the bag, I thought.  So the only thing I could think of was to pick it up, and swat the closest girl with it.

It got her attention away for a while, but that was only temporary.  My brain was freezing up.  I decided for now that it would be best to get out of here.  I whirled my way down the left path, beyond some kind of arch thing (I didn't see it, but I did see its shadow).  While I was spinning in circles half the time (to see my opponents) and running (away from them, of course), I noticed Van come back outside, probably wondering what happened to me.  With one big thrust, I threw his bag into his arms, which he grabbed and quickly went back inside.  But now I didn't have anything to protect my self with…

"Halt!" cried a loud, booming, male voice.  Immediately the girls (and a few guys?) stopped in their path.  I looked up to find an old man, who actually wasn't as tall as his voice suggested.  He had a white beard, wrinkled face, and carried a stick, but he wasn't frail at all.  He still showed off some muscular strength, even with his thin arms and legs.  He had this air of leadership, which I could not even deny.  He then looked at me, and motioned for me to go inside the house that Van was in.

"Wow, that was quite a show you put on out there," he remarked, chuckling.  Though he looked at both Van and me, I could tell that he was referring to my "dance" outside.  "I'm impressed."

"Yeah…" I breathed, still panting from before.  Van better make up for this waste of energy with food or something, because I'm hungry.  The old man scanned me from head to toe.  It seemed like he was searching for something, which he soon gave up and finally asked.

"I know you're Van Dillogne," he said, looking at Van, "but I don't recognize this young lady here."

"She's Mel," answered Van.  "She's my new student."

I beamed with the honor of being called Van's student.  "Nice to meet you, sir," I said to the old man, putting out a hand.

He shook it firmly, and chuckled.  "Radius is just fine."  He walked towards a table, where there were enough seats for the three of them.

"Please sit down.  It's been a while since I've had guests," said Radius.  I followed Van's lead and sat across from Radius.  Wow…I can't believe how good this feels.  My feet ached pretty badly, and I was SO tired…

"Why don't you stay for supper?  It would be my pleasure," Radius added.  Van and I both agreed.

"I don't know if I want to face the mass of people outside right now," said Van, and I agreed.  Plus, I wouldn't be able to get out this chair for a while anyway.

"That too," added Radius.  "At least you don't attract the crowds that Serge and Kid do when they decide to pay Arni a visit."

Serge and Kid…they seemed so familiar.  Oh yeah, I think I know where I heard their names…my brother mentioned them.  They came to Guldove once for some kind of fighting exposition or something, and Korcha was so hung up on Kid's looks for the rest of the month.  I think he was more obsessed that I was with Van…or not.  Well, he didn't obsess as long, but that's not the point…

Anyway, it seems like Van knows a bit about them too.  While I lost myself into my thoughts, Van immediately began talking about them with Radius.  And now I would have to find a place to jump in the conversation…

"…I've heard that Kid has quite a group of admirers too…"

"…yeah and Serge somehow keeps them from breaking into his home…"

Maybe it wouldn't be so easy.  I just relaxed, and watched them change the subject from them to Van and then other outside affairs.  It would take too much energy to think.

By the way, where's the food?  I'm about to faint from hunger here, you know!

I yawned.  I think I'm going to fall asleep before the food comes…

(A/N: Sorry, didn't know that I would end up putting Serge and Kid together.  Well, actually I don't know myself if they are "together" as in "couple", but it's not going to be Serge x Leena.   By the way, I'm sure Radius is somewhat out of character, but you should expect if Mel and Van are out of character, he would be too.  And I really don't know what kind of job Serge and Kid have right now, but remember that this story is set in a somewhat alternate universe, so anything can happen...well almost.  Lastly, if you have read this far, please review!  Any comment is appreciated, so I know that someone is reading this fic…)