-Screwball Shrimp Tempura-

They arrived back on their home planet by the local afternoon. Forte decided to head for her favorite oden stand before going back to headquarters.

"Konbanwa. May I take your... Forte?" She was hailed by a surprised new employee. It was Millie, a young girl she had met a few times before. She looked as though she were seeing a ghost. The Brigade member exchanged greetings with the cook as she took her familiar seat.

"Long time no see Millie. You're working here now?"

"Since three days ago." the girl's employer affirmed. The blond scowled a little.

"But just until I work off the cost of the food I stole." Millie scrutinized Forte. "I heard on the news that you died. But I guess that was bul... a lie?"

The stand owner smiled with a bit of affectionate exasperation. The youngster was trying to change her ways. Forte would have smiled too if the girl hadn't brought up a prickly subject. Why did that fake funeral keep coming back to bite her?

"Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated."

After the meal Forte and Millie headed for the grocery store. Of course, Forte didn't need to buy anything since she could get anything she needed from the base's cafeteria. She knew she was just stalling, but it seemed easier than facing a bunch of complicated emotions once she saw Ranpha again. They were a block from the store when a man bumped into Millie, knocking her bags to the sidewalk. Before either of them could stop him, he grabbed the bags and ran off cackling.

"Gambero is victorious! Ciao!"

Forte pulled a gun out of instinct, and began to chase the strange mugger. Millie kept up easily, always having been a great runner.

"Hey! You give back that food right now or there is going to be serious pain on your part!"

"Less talking, more chasing!"

They pursed the thief through Dead Town, never quite catching up with the increasingly goofy 'Gambero' taunting them all the way. Finally he made a turn into an alley, followed by a loud thunking sound. The girls panted as they assimilated the situation. There was a man in a business suit holding the bags and shaking his head as two muscular men dragged the unconscious mugger through a door in the left building. The suit looked up at them, and sighed in exasperation.

"I take it these groceries are yours?"

"Yes." Millie said gruffly as she snatched the bags back. She hesitated, as though the notion of perhaps considering expressing a vague form of gratitude may have crossed her mind for a moment.

"What's the deal with that Gambero?" Forte asked bemusedly.

"Well, it's a bit tedious to explain. Basically he's the boss's nephew, so the boss feels obligated to keep him employed. Unfortunately, he can't really do anything useful around here. So we send him to do errands, like grocery shopping. But he has to make it all dramatic and well... you know the rest."

He took a second look at Millie, and recognition spread across his face.

"You, you're..."

"I'm what?"

But the man was too busy searching his pockets for something. It was an envelope, addressed to Millie.

"This is from your father. He told us to give it to you if we ever saw you."

"My father?!"

That explained the thugs, and the family obligations of the boss. Millie's father had been an important member of the mafia, but was currently incarcerated. Her mother had abandoned her soon after the arrest, leaving the girl to fend for herself, and turn to petty theft. The mugging had been a blessing in disguise, enabling her to find this small bit of contact with him.

She took the envelope, and thanked him without taking her eyes off it. She and Forte found a bench and sat as she read the message. A tear spilled from Millie's eye as she finished the letter. She read the final passage aloud.

"'I know I can't make up for leaving you in the lurch like this with mere words, but now words are all I have. I wouldn't be surprised if you hated me for what I've done to you, and the life my bad choices have forced you to lead. But no matter how much you hate me, I will always love you, my daughter.'" Millie shook her head. "How could I ever hate him? I think he's an idiot, a terrible person, and I'm furious at him. But I could never hate him."

Forte saw Millie become aware of her vulnerable emotional state and go back on the defensive. It was almost eerie how much she could see of herself in the younger girl.

"I mean, he's not worth it."

"So you mean he is worth loving, even if he hurts you."

Millie smiled despite herself. "That's why you're so annoying you know. Always saying stuff like that."

As Forte made her way back to the base, she couldn't shake those words from her thoughts.

'No matter how much you hate me, I will always love you...' '...worth loving, even if he hurts you.'

Regardless of the pain another can cause, people remain deeply attached to those that harm them the most, foolish as it may be. Of course, that realization was nothing new. She knew all about dependant and abusive relationships. But what significance did it have to her current situation? Forte was pulled out of her thoughts once she arrived in front of the elevator. There was Ranpha. They stepped on together without a word. The two were alone again for the first time since the hotel room. They were silent for all of forty seconds before Ranpha piped up.

"Okay, can we stop avoiding each other now? This is ridiculous."

"I'm not avoiding you; I'm just not going out of my way to say anything to you. There's a difference."

"Like hell there is. I'm not leaving you alone," Ranpha said blushing, but with that cute pseudo anger still in her face and voice, "Until you tell me what you feel about... me."

"I have kept that pretty ambiguous, haven't I?"

"Well, no. You've always treated me like a best friend who also pisses you off. But I need to hear you say..." she trailed off, seeming a bit doubtful of herself.

Forte waited as she contemplated her answer. Normad said she was governed by emotions, but ones besides anger were slow coming to her. She had to be absolutely certain of them beforehand. Yeah, she'd take it slow; make sure everything was clear to the both of them.

"I lied to you Ranpha." The girl's face lit up in surprise. It was a slightly unusual way to begin. "I said I don't like the way you pick guys because you lose control and get your heart broken. That's not what I really meant."

Forte laughed to herself a bit. "Mint was right about me. The real reason I get jealous when you go after boys is... because I want you for myself."

Ranpha's blush intensified as she coyly began to smile.

"Well, in that case..." she said taking Forte's hand. At that moment the elevator door opened to the common room of the Angel Brigade Headquarters.

"..."

(Not the end yet!)