Volcott sat in his chair, glancing at his watch
every now and then. Mint and Vanilla H stood beside him. Ranpha and Forte
were lounging on the couch. Milfeulle was still asleep. Mint looked at
Volcott with a concerned expression.
"Volcott, do you think the new member got
lost or broke down somewhere?"
"It is taking a while, isn't it?" Volcott
said. "Don't worry, I'm sure they'll be here soon."
"Why are we getting another one anyway? We
practically just got Milfeulle," Ranpha said.
"I actually look forward to new members,"
Mint said, smiling. "I think they're fun."
Outside in space, a small spaceship was slowly
moving along.
"Okay…easy, easy…" a voice murmured.
The person flew steadily, inching along towards Angel Brigade headquarters.
They moved over slightly and their hand slipped, moving the controls to
full speed.
"Oh no!!!"
The spaceship bolted faster than lightning towards the approaching
HQ. The person covered their eyes with their hands.
CRASH!!
The girls and Volcott jumped as the headquarters
moved.
"What the heck was that?" Forte demanded.
"I don't know," Volcott said.
Milfeulle came out of her room, clad in her fuzzy pajamas, yawning.
"Was that some kind of quake?" she asked.
Before anyone could reply, the door slid open. They all stared at the
person in the door.
"Uh…" the young teenage boy muttered. "Hi…I'm
Denim Malange."
-Galaxy Angel-
Nande? Do-shite? PINCHI! (Why? Why is it? Oh
no!)
Share ni nannai doki doki (This isn't funny! Thump! Thump!)
TORABURU kousen Buru Buru uchuu wa oosawagi atafuta (A beam of trouble…buzz!
Buzz! All of space is in a tizzy! Hurry-scurry!)
Okke- MUCHA shittatte heiki (Okay! Even if we get reckless,
no problem.)
YAMUCHA shicatte tsui tsui (Even with dimsun, can't help it.)
Omatsuri kibun de ato wa kamisama ni inorimashou (Be in a festive
mood and pray to God for everything else.)
Pan pan (Clap! Clap!)
Ingaouhou! (Or there's retribution.)
Mainichi ga ADOBENCHAA (Every day is an adventure.)
Maku ga aitara (When the curtain opens.)
Deta toko shoubu (The challenge begins.)
TANE mo SHIKAKE mo mahou mo nai (No secrets, no tricks, no magic.)
ICHI ga BACHI ka no I.N.G (We'll just have to give it our all! I.N.G.)
Okiraku KAANIBARU (A carefree carnival.)
Yume to kibou no MASHIN GAN (A machine gun of dreams and hopes.)
Hoshii mono ni nerai o sadamete Bang! Bang! (Go after what you really
want. Bang! Bang!)
Odoro- asobo- BURABO- (Dance, play…Bravo!)
Tokimeki ROKETTO ni notte (Ride the rocket of dreams.)
Tenka muteki no SAKUSESU SUTOORII hajimeyou (Let's embark on our
invincible success story!)
Today's Menu: Strawberry Shortcake For the New Member
Denim Malange looked like a total wreck. His
dark green was limp and falling in little wisps around his face; he had
a few scratches and bruises on his face, neck, and hands; his cap was falling
off his head; his military outfit was wrinkled and in disarray.
The girls had never seen such a vision of loveliness in a man.
"Is this the Angel Brigade headquarters?"
Denim asked in a small voice.
"Yes it is," Volcott answered, rising to his
feet. "Are you the new member assigned to this brigade?"
"Yes, I am…sir!" he added quickly, raising
his hand in a salute, knocking his cap off his head to reveal his messy
hair. He blushed embarrassedly, and Milfeulle giggled at how cute and silly
he looked. Volcott smiled at him.
"Well, welcome Denim. I am your commander,
Volcott."
He turned to the others.
"Girls, introduce yourselves."
"Forte Stollen."
"Ranpha Framboise."
"Mint Blancmange."
"Milfeulle Sakuraba!"
"And this is Vanilla," said Volcott, putting
his hand on Vanilla's head. "She doesn't speak much. Now, I suppose you'll
be wanting a new change of uniform and a chance to wash up."
Denim looked down at his rumpled, messy clothing and nodded gratefully.
Volcott led him out of the room and down the hallway.
When they were gone, all of the girls looked
at each other. Ranpha had hearts in her eyes.
"Girls, you all have just seen my future husband!"
she sighed happily.
"Huh?"
Ranpha nodded her head.
"Yes, Denim and I will make a wonderful couple!"
"Hmph. Ranpha, what makes you think that you're
the only one Denim will end up with?" Forte asked.
Ranpha gave her a sly look.
"Forte Stollen, are you implying that you
have fallen for Denim's good looks as well?"
Forte averted her eyes and said nothing. Ranpha grinned.
"Ooh, I'm right! You have!"
Mint blushed and looked at the floor.
"I have to admit, I think he's rather cute,
too."
"Oh, how cute!" Ranpha giggled. "But I believe
we all know who is the most attractive one of this bunch."
"The beauty on the inside," Vanilla said flatly,
"is far more important than the beauty on the outside."
"That's right, Vanilla, you tell those girls,"
said NORMAD proudly.
"Well, then, I'm good both ways," Ranpha bragged.
"I don't know about that," Forte remarked
with a smirk.
"My beauty is sure to win him over, Forte!"
"So it is to be a competition, then?"
Ranpha's eyes lit up.
"Yes! A competition!"
"A competition?" Mint and Milfeulle asked
in unison.
"Each of us will try to win over Denim, and
the one he chooses will be the girlfriend," Ranpha explained. "Starting…NOW!"
Ranpha and Forte raced out of the room. Mint and Milfeulle looked at
each other questioningly. Vanilla slowly walked out of the room. Mint sighed.
"How are we supposed to compete with Ranpha
and Forte?"
"Well…" Milfeulle thought, putting her finger
on her chin in that cute way she does. "You're…really smart and fun to
talk to. Maybe you can 'win him over' that way!"
Mint smiled and her odd ears perked up.
"Maybe! I'll need to go think about what to
talk about!"
She left Milfeulle in a room by herself.
"Hmmm," she hummed.
She sat down on the couch and thought.
"What should I do?"
Denim stepped out of the bathroom after bathing
and washing his hair. He rubbed his damp hair with a soft towel.
"Man, how embarrassing was that?" Denim muttered
to himself. "Walking in on my first day looking like that…"
"Oh, you looked fine to me."
"Ah!" Denim yelped, startled.
He turned to see his new blonde co-worker leaning against the door,
smiling at him.
"Uh, M-Miss Framboise! I didn't know you were
in here!"
Ranpha's smile widened slightly and she started to walk toward him.
She reached over to twirl a strand of his wet hair around her finger.
"Seriously, though, I think you're rather
cute," she cooed.
Denim glanced around nervously.
"Uh…thank you."
"And what do you think about me, handsome?"
"Uh, uh, you look very nice, and I, uh, have
to go!"
Ranpha gasped slightly as he pulled away from her and ran out of the
room…and right into another girl.
"Ah!" He yelped, then relaxed. "Oh…oh, hi!
You're Vanilla, aren't you?"
The girl's red eyes stared into his and she motioned for him to kneel
down to her level. He hesitated, and then did so. He jumped a little as
she touched his face and healed all of his scratches and bruises. He smiled
at her.
"Oh, thank you!"
Vanilla stared at him with that emotionless expression. Denim stood
back, his smile fading slowly.
"Um…okay…I'll…be going now… Thanks again!"
After that, he ran into Forte who showed off
her extensive arsenal, which seemed to scare him off. Then he and Mint
had an intellectual conversation in which she learned his surprising passion
for dressing in fuzzy animal costumes outweighed hers slightly, which left
her a bit confused and jealous.
The rest of the day for Denim was spent running
around HQ, bumping into one of the girls and escaping from them. Volcott
and NORMAD sat by the chess set, pretending to play, but actually watching
Denim's predicament with growing amusement.
Finally, as the day drew to a close, Denim was faced with Ranpha,
Forte, Vanilla, and Mint standing in a row in front of him.
"It's time, Denim," Forte announced.
Denim sweatdropped.
"T-time?"
Ranpha winked.
"It's time for you to pick which of us is
going to be your girlfriend!"
"Girlfriend? So that's what's going on?"
Denim smiled weakly.
"I understand now. That's why you all were
fighting. Listen, I'm flattered you all like me so much. But I just want
us all to be friends, okay?"
"Friends…" Ranpha blinked, then smiled slowly.
"Yeah! Sure!"
Forte nodded.
"Good deal."
Mint smiled.
"We'll be good friends!"
Vanilla, as usual, just stared. Denim smiled, relieved.
"Good."
"Hi, Denim!"
Denim turned to see Milfeulle coming out of the kitchen.
"Oh no…"
She smiled cutely and held out a box.
"Here! I made this for you!"
Denim hesitantly reached over to open the box to reveal…strawberry
shortcake! Denim stared. Milfeulle looked at him and saddened.
"What's wrong? Do you not like strawberry
shortcake?"
Denim hung his head. Milfeulle got a little nervous.
"Denim?"
"Miss Sakuraba…"
"Um, yes?"
He suddenly lifted his head. He had a big grin on his face, his eyes
were big and sparkly, and there were anime tears streaming down his face.
"Thank you so much! I love strawberry shortcake!"
Milfeulle smiled brightly.
"Really? Wow!"
Mint smiled earnestly. Vanilla stared. Ranpha and Forte exchanged glances.
"Coincidence?" Forte whispered.
Ranpha frowned.
"No," she whispered back. "It's all Milfeulle's
dumb luck!"
Milfeulle did not hear. She was lost gazing happily into Denim's eyes.
And he was lost gazing right back.
Next Menu: Yummy Candy For Girls
Manten no SUTAA DASUTO (The stardust sparkles so high in the sky)
BIIZU no BOTORU o chirikashita mitai (It seems to have burst forth
from a bottle of beads)
Mikkazuki no HANMOKKU de (Lying in a hammock under a crescent moon)
Yume o mite itara KIMI ni ai taku natta (I felt as though
I wanted to see you again)
Mimi o sumaseba hora ne (If you listen carefully…see?)
Kikoete kuru desho? (Can you hear it?)
Tokimeki no ANTENNA nemuresenaide (Don't let your antenna of wonder
ever fall asleep)
No! No!
Otomeza no watashi kara yagiza no KIMI e C.Q. C.Q. (From me, the
Virgo, to you, the Capricorn, C.Q. C.Q.)
PEGASASU no tsubasa de mukae ni yuku yo (Riding on the wings of
a Pegasus, I will come to see you)
Darling, Darling You!