Wow...its been quite a while since I've updated...well Dra-goon has been busy --. But fear not (or...no...whatever). This saga is coming a close, quite soon I might add . So please, sit back and enjoy...

Chapter 9

The girls all entered the mansion with their hundreds of bags of a hundred different colors.

"So where should we put all this?" Jun asked. Anna shrugged not really caring, not like she bought much anyway besides maybe a pan to replace the one she used on Horohoro.

"Let one of those good for nothing boys handle it." She said. Jeanne and Pilica looked at each other. Neither of them had a guy, not yet at least.

"Oh hey, Jeanne. How's it going?" Horo asked. Before she could answered he already took the bags and carried them to her room. A few seconds later Ren got Pilica's. Not in a boyfriend girlfriend relation, but just so Horo wouldn't beat him. Jeanne looked at the schedule to see if she had to cook. She gave a quick sigh of relief when she saw she didn't have to cook.

"Well, at least I don't have to cook tonight." Jeanne said. Macchi pushed her aside to see who did, snickering because she was going to make fun of whoever did. Macchi backed away once she saw who did had to cook.

"I have to cook?!" Macchi gasped.

"What? We all have to cook sooner or later." Pilica said. Macchi frantically shook her head.

"You don't understand. I CAN NOT COOK! I can't even make toast, even if my life depended on it." Macchi cried.

"Well, I'll think I'll have takeout tonight." Pilica said. Jeanne nodded and followed her friend. Lyserg came walking down the hallway to meet Macchi.

"Hey. How was your shopping spree?" He asked. It relieved Macchi a bit.

"Oh, it was so great. I had a lot of fun…until!" Macchi said. She then pointed to the schedule list. "I have to cook!" She cried. Lyserg shrugged not knowing what the big deal was. Cooking wasn't that hard!

"So, cooking isn't that hard. Its just Anna demands this gourmet crap." Lyserg said. He realized what he said and covered his mouth, not like it would have done much good.

"What? What's wrong?" Macchi asked him.

"I said…A word of curse." Lyserg almost fainted. Macchi grabbed Lyserg's shirt and shook him.

"What aren't you getting?! I have to cook! ME! I can't even make a s'more!" Macchi cried. Lyserg put his hands on her shoulders. Although it could have been classified as a romantic moment, Lyserg only did it to calm her down.

"Macchi you have to calm down. I'll help you, but I won't do the cooking for you." Lyserg said. Macchi quickly hugged Lyserg swiping herself off her feet.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Macchi jumped up and down with joy.

The two entered the kitchen, a realm Macchi considered completely foreign. She never had to cook. She didn't know what the dials meant or what a cup was. Lyserg went over to the fridge and opened it up.

"So what you want to make?" Lyserg asked. Macchi just gave a long pause of silence. She had made choices like this often. So why was this one so hard

"Um…tacos?" Macchi suggested. Lyserg looked back in the fridge to see if they had the right ingredients.

"Nope, no salsa or tortillas." Lyserg said. He looked deeper into the confines of the barren ice land called 'Horo's Midnight Cabinet'. "We could make a stew or something with beef." Lyserg suggested.

"That's it, a stew!" Macchi beamed. Lyserg nodded and started to pull some ingredients out.

"Ok, just get a pot." Lyserg said. Macchi opened the cabinet door and was shocked.

"Where the in hell is the pot?!" Macchi screamed. There had to been at least twenty different saucepans, double boilers, pots and pans all in one cabinet. Lyserg looked up and pointed to a long huge pot. "Oh…that pot…" Macchi said. She reached up to grab the pot, but another five fell down. One hit her on the head. She put the proper pot down on the stove and looked down at the other pot and smashed it with her foot. "Stupid pot! You hit my…!" Lyserg covered his ears on the next part and grabbed the pot from her foot.

"Macchi! You can't destroy it! If Anna found out…we'll be dead." Lyserg told her. Macchi calmed down and nodded.

"Oh…sorry about that." Macchi apologized to Lyserg. She looked down into the pot. "Yeah…so what do I put in it?" Macchi asked. Lyserg put the items in front of her.

"Well what you think you should put in?" Lyserg rhetorically asked her. Macchi had to think on that one.

"Oh water!" Macchi said. She turned on the water to the sink and waited for it to fill up the pot.

"Ok, good. Now we need to add something for the broth." Lyserg instructed her. Macchi was lost in what Lyserg was talking about. "The part that makes the water taste good, like chicken broth." Lyserg explained further. Macchi then thought for a moment.

"What to use for broth…" Macchi thought. She looked at the fridge and it came to her. She looked into the Arctic wasteland, hoping something was there. She pulled out a Pepsi can. "Here we go." Macchi beamed.

"A little refreshment?" Lyserg asked. Macchi opened the can and walked over the pot. She then poured the liquid into the water. Lyserg gaped and was completely shocked. "Macchi! I thought I hinted you enough with the chicken! You need meat! Not soda!" Lyserg yelled in sheer horror. Macchi looked at the meat and shrugged.

"So, soda tastes good…and so do onions!" Macchi said. She threw a whole bulb into the stew. Lyserg screamed again.

"Macchi to need to cut it up!" Lyserg screamed. Macchi looked at her fingernails.

"I don't think they're long enough." Macchi said pointing to her fingernails. Lyserg smacked himself on the head. He couldn't believe how naive Macchi was acting. "Ok, I'll stop." Macchi giggled. Lyserg gave a sigh of relief. At least Macchi was back to her old self. "But I still don't know how to cook." Macchi added in.

"That's fine. I'll 'help' you, remember?" Lyserg said. Macchi smiled and nodded. "Ok let's get down to business." Lyserg said.

Macchi opened a two-liter of Pepsi and poured it into the stew. Lyserg was sautéing the vegetables, shaking his head as that Macchi was adding Pepsi again, for the third time. Macchi had the steak meat in the microwave. Macchi looked at what Lyserg was doing.

"So what you doing again?" Macchi asked. The microwave timer beeped and Macchi went over to pull the meat out.

"It's called a sauté. It adds flavor to the food." Lyserg explained. Macchi just nodded, all she understood from that was 'it makes it taste better'. Earlier Lyserg was talking about how to cut foods in certain ways and that was enough for her. "Ok done." Lyserg said. He dumped the vegetables into the pot, with butter and all. Macchi then threw in the meat and turned the heat up to seven. "Now we just wait." Lyserg then said.

"Wow, is cooking really this easy?" Macchi asked. 'Ok, it wasn't that easy, but it was easier that I thought!' Macchi thought. Lyserg nodded.

"Of course, that is unless you get into gourmet food." Lyserg said. Macchi continued to nod. She leaned against the fridge.

"Well…How about you tell everyone that the food is almost ready." Macchi said. Lyserg looked down into the stew. It had carrots, onions, peppers, spices, steak pieces, and the secret ingredient, Pepsi, lots of it I might add. It looked almost done to him. He went back into the dining hall to tell everyone dinner was ready, but was shocked at what he saw.

"Oh hey Lyserg." Yoh called out. He waved to him and Lyserg waved back. "Want some Chinese Takeout?" He asked. Everyone else was there eating the take-out as well. Lyserg shook his head and went back to the kitchen. Lyserg was sweating profusely. Macchi wondered what just happened.

"Oh my…um…Macchi, everyone is having take-out." Lyserg said. Macchi sighed. All her hard work had done the drain. "Well, I guess it just us two that will have the stew then." Lyserg said, trying to cheer her up. Macchi got out two bowls and filled her own. "Come on. You should be proud." Lyserg said. Macchi then grabbed a spoon and took a sip. Lyserg filled up his own bowl and grabbed some chopsticks. He picked up a piece of steak and stuck it in his mouth. Lyserg was expecting it to taste horrible, but it didn't. He could taste the meat, it was juicy and tender, but he could also taste the soda. The water wasn't completely liquid, but more of a caramel thickness. The liquid dripped off every piece he picked up. He set his bowl down on the table.

"You think it's horrible, don't you." Macchi said depressed. Lyserg blushed and shook his head.

"No actually…it's quite good." Lyserg commented. Macchi laughed.

"Quit pulling my leg. Admit it, you hate it!" Macchi said. Lyserg shook his head again.

"No really, it's quite good. It's very…unique." Lyserg said. Macchi put her bowl down and continued to lean on the fridge door.

"Come on, you don't have to be nice to me." Macchi said.

"Macchi, your stew is really good!"

"Don't you mean…'our' stew?"

"What?" Lyserg asked. Macchi laughed for a moment.

"You helped me make it. It be rude for me to take all the credit." Macchi giggled. Lyserg blushed again and Macchi continued to laugh at his uncontrollable blushing.

"Well…we're friends. That's what friends do." Lyserg said still blushing, trying to justify his feelings. Macchi moved closer to Lyserg and stood right next to Lyserg smiling.

"Tell me, do you ever think we were something more?" Macchi asked. Blushing Lyserg could feel his heart skipping beats again. He was going to bring that up, but it was too late.

"Well…um…sometimes." Lyserg answered. Macchi grabbed his hand and softly gripped it.

"Come on, just tell me." Macchi said. Lyserg didn't know how to answer. If he answered no, he was afraid he hurt Macchi's feeling, but if he said yes she may be in love with Hao. He gulped and decided.

"Yes, I think we are more than friends." Lyserg answered. He was beginning to feel normal again. Macchi smiled and moved closer to him.

"So you think we're…in love perhaps?" Macchi asked casually. Lyserg began to feel weird again. He wished Macchi wouldn't do that. "I want to know what you think, Lyserg." Macchi said. She grabbed his other hand and swung around and met him eye to eye. She continued to smile right in front of him. Lyserg wished he were used to being around girls. It would have helped.

"Um…I…ye-yes." Lyserg stuttered. Macchi pulled him into the hallway that connected that connected to the kitchen. Macchi gave him a fast kiss on his lips. She quickly came back down, still smiling.

"Good night, Lyserg." Macchi said. She waved good-bye to him as she walked down to her room. Lyserg just waved back and continued to blush. Once she was out of view he slammed his fist into the wall.

"Man. Missed my chance to tell her." Lyserg scorned himself. But he wasn't worried, he still had tomorrow night. Maybe it would be ideal to him or be certain disaster. It was a risk he was willing to take. Horo was in the kitchen devouring down the stew. He stopped and looked at Lyserg.

"Man this is some good stuff!" Horo said. "Great job on it. If I would have known it was this good, I would had this instead." Lyserg smiled and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Well, I can't take all the credit. Macchi helped too. It is 'our' soup."

Macchi put on her nightgown and jumped onto her bed. She liked going that. It was just fun. She curled up into a ball and stretched back out. She crawled into her bed and left space for someone else.

"Fun day, wasn't it?" Macchi asked the person that wasn't there. There was no answer. Macchi turned around to see Lyserg wasn't there. Her sudden joy turned into sudden sadness. She turned the other way and tried to sleep. It didn't feel right. Macchi wanted someone to be there by her. She missed Lyserg's warm touch, his hair, just him there. Macchi felt like there was a piece missing in her bed. She could have gone to ask Lyserg once again, but that would cause too much trouble. She already Lyserg through some major trauma today and didn't want to send any wrong messages. She put Jack in Lyserg's place. It still didn't feel the same. She closed her eyes again and clenched her fists. She wanted Lyserg, as much as she didn't. She knew she belonged to Hao and him only, but she was having all these feelings for Lyserg. He had already helped her so much. Macchi put it all behind her and went to sleep.