A/N: Hello, everybody! Yeah, it's me again, and sorry, this isn't a vote. You people don't get to vote on the ending. (Voting and stuff like that is against FF.N policies) The ending was decided before I began work on the story. I think you people would be satisfied by it. Besides, it isn't hard to guess what you people would vote.
DarkXeno: You never give up, do you? (I mean that positively) I decided since you've been such a nice person, I will give hints of lemon to you. Why did Rouge lose her cool? Well, would you be calm if you were working your little behind off for something and someone just walks up and takes it as if it was no problem?
Warning: Extreme use of the words "cute" and "Knuckles" in the same sentences.
~Raiegki Leviathan
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Operation: Seduce EchidnaChapter Four: A Different Type of Treasure
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His respect for her grew that day.
Never did Knuckles guess that Rouge would watch over his emerald so attentively and fight for it so valiantly. Perhaps he could at the very least, appreciate her company a bit more. He owed her, and he would repay his debt by giving the bat what she wanted.
To spend a simple day together.
Once his head cleared up, he and Rouge put the Master Emerald back in its proper place and they set out to have some fun together. They stopped at a humble sidewalk café for lunch and ended up talking for a good two hours over lemonade [1] and grapes. They talked about adventures, and they talked about treasure hunting. The conversation soon turned into a one-upping contest, to see who found the better treasures. Of course, they got a bit carried away and decided to call it a tie once they realized they had no proof of such escapades. Eventually, the talks became more and more serious, until it finally reached the subject of love.
"Do you think Sonic likes Amy?" Rouge asked.
Knuckles laughed. "You can never tell with that guy. Mention Amy's name and he's already a mile away. The affairs of those two adamant hedgehogs don't affect me much; I don't follow them too closely. I only pay attention is if Sonic drags me into it." He paused to gulp down some more lemonade. "Sometimes, I wonder if Amy really does like Sonic, or if it's just the obsessed fantasy of a preteen girl."
Rouge pondered that for a moment. "What about you?" she inquired. "Have you been in love?"
"…No." The echidna suddenly looked downhearted. "I mean, I've never gotten close to anyone before."
"Why not?"
"I can't." Knuckles sighed, shaking his head as his dreadlocks swayed in the wake of the motion. "I just can't. My life is devoted to the protection of the Master Emerald. There's no time or tolerance for things like love. And even if I did find a way to devote myself to someone special, it can be used against me. In many different ways. I can't afford to be in love."
Rouge was silent. For a moment, she was afraid he had figured out her plan, but when she saw that look of desperation and longing in those sad amethyst eyes, she couldn't help but feel for him for a minute.
"I didn't mean for it to be hurtful." She consoled, regretting asking the question.
Her thoughts straightened out. What was she doing? She was not supposed to relate to him. Her sole purpose was to get the echidna to fall head over heels for her.
She gathered the most compassionate look possible. What a sob story. She thought with mild disgust, though she seemed to be having trouble staying sickened at it. It was a pretty pitiful sob story.
A weak smile formed on Knuckles' face.
"I know you didn't." He answered. "You were simply…curious."
~*~
Knuckles lingered behind a bit as he allowed Rouge to lead the way. He didn't exactly know where they were going, but it didn't seem to matter much. He was enjoying the female's company and would go wherever she led him.
Knuckles blinked as he watched the bat in front of him. He noticed her magnificent wings and her eloquent curves. He never really recalled noticing them before, but that feral beauty that she always seemed to have increased tenfold now that he was really starting to look at her. He wondered how he could have known her for so long and not take note of such physical beauty.
"What are you staring at? Did you finally notice I'm a girl?" Rouge asked, turning her head over her shoulder.
"Ack!" Knuckles cried out, completely off guard. His face was almost as red as his fur. He looked down on his shoes out of guilt. "Yes…no…uh…I didn't mean to…"
Rouge giggled. She had never seen this side of Knuckles before. She had no idea he was so…shy, unlike the tough "Get-the-Hell-off-my-island-and-away-from-my-emerald" impatient little brute she often saw. The bat now had an insecure, "Ack! It's-a-girl! What-do-I-do!? What-do-I-do!?" cute little fuzz ball on her hands. It amused her to no end. Maybe she'd poke some more fun out of the stuttering echidna. She would spare no expense in exploiting her poor victim, who now seemed incapable of forming sentences with his vocal chords.
"It's okay." She grinned. "If you were anyone else, I'd slap you upside the head. However, I think I'll make an exception…for you." She turned her face forward again and continued on.
Knuckles blinked and tilted his head rather cutely.
~*~
Ever since she gave him permission to gaze at her all he wanted, that was the last thing Knuckles now wanted to do. He felt like an idiot for several reasons, and he couldn't remember what most of them were, but not being able to take his eyes off the bat was one he was sure of. He was so used to annoying Rouge by not doing what she said, it was an instinctive reaction to do the exact opposite of what she said.
It wasn't like he was gazing at her on purpose.
"Hey, pay attention when I'm talking to you!"
"Uh…what?" Knuckles blinked, back to reality.
Rouge slapped her forehead. "Here's a tip about dating…no spacing out! Especially not when the person you're on a date with is talking to you!"
"I'll try to remember that." Knuckles apologized, head dipping what appeared to be a small, respectful bow. Was it just him, or did she use the word "date"!? Was this a date? He wasn't quite sure. He tilted his head again, slightly confused.
"You better." His companion warned, pointing a finger at him. "And stop doing that head tilting thing…even though it's kind of cute."
She thought he was cute? That was new to him.
"As I was saying…" Rouge continued. "I wanted to know if you'd show me around your island. I've been there plenty of times, you know that, but I've never actually gotten the chance to look around because…well, you know why." She was trying her best not to use the words "Master Emerald" in fear that Knuckles would say no.
Knuckles thought about her proposal for a second. He knew he could not refuse her. He still was in debt to her for protecting his emerald. The day was still young, and he had promised her an entire day together. A little tour couldn't hurt. It was probably the best way to stay out of trouble for a while.
"Alright."
~*~
Rouge pretended to be very interested in what the island had to offer. She always stayed a couple steps or wing beats ahead of her echidna guide and asked questions about particular plants and structures that seemed unique to her, all of which Knuckles answered without having to think. She could see he knew his island like the back of his hand. And why wouldn't he? He's spent the majority of his life on it.
Soon enough, Rouge didn't even have to feign interest anymore. Angel Island was so unique, unlike the other islands she's visited on her various treasure hunts or vacations.
"Oh, hey! What's this?" She asked, walking up to a large stone right next to the side of a hill.
"It's nothing." The echidna told her. "Nothing of importance. Um…over here there's a nice waterfall…"
It looks like there's something behind this… Rouge thought. Whatever it was, it wasn't the Master Emerald. She knew where that was kept, but she was too preoccupied with this rock to think about that. She tried to peer around it, but she couldn't see much. However, a ray of sunshine seeped through the crack as something shined directly in her eye. She pulled back, temporarily blinded. Her vision came back after a second.
"I told you, there's nothing special about that boulder!" Knuckles growled.
"There's something shiny back here!" Rouge called back. "Tell me what it is!"
"You don't need to know."
"Aha! So you do know what it is!"
Knuckles slapped himself for practically giving it away.
"Show me what it is!" She demanded. "You still owe me!"
"Are you sure you want to know?" Knuckles asked, in one last attempt to make her lose interest. He regretted pledging his entire day to her. "Curiosity killed the bat."
"Yes, and for your information, curiosity killed the cat."
"Fine, fine." Knuckles reluctantly stepped over to the huge rock and started to push with all his might. He shoved and dug his shoes into the dirt while the obstacle slowly began to give way to his strength and move over to one side. When there finally was an opening large enough for them to crawl through, he stopped pushing and stopped to recover from such an endeavor.
Rouge saw the rock was blocking cave that went into the hill, but it didn't look natural. It looked more like a burrow than a cave.
"Come on." The echidna beckoned.
"Did you dig this?" The bat asked.
"Yes. Yes I did." The male answered.
"Why?"
"You'll see."
The two entered the cave and Rouge nearly squealed in delight.
Before her, stood a massive treasure trove. A pile of valuables that looked about the same size and value as her own stash. Gold, silver, diamonds, rubies…name a precious stone or metal, you could find it there.
"It's all mine."
"All yours?" She repeated in disbelief. Then she remembered that like her, Knuckles was a freelance treasure hunter. "Wow…"
"I know exactly what's in here. I will be able to tell if something is stolen, so don't try it."
"What makes you think I'd try to steal something?" Rouge pouted. Knuckles gave her a "You've-got-to-be-kidding-me" look. The look softened.
"Sorry." Knuckles apologized. "Guess I'm being paranoid. You're the first person I've shown this to. Not even Sonic knows about this."
"Well, thank you for showing me!" Rouge grinned, planting a kiss on Knuckles' cheek. "But I think I'd rather see more of your island."
He perked up. "Really?"
Outside, Knuckles pushed the boulder back in place. This time the effort seemed easier.
Rouge took him by the arm.
"Let's go see that waterfall you were talking about."
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[1] – There's your "hint of lemon", DarkXeno. I can find loopholes too, so ha!
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