(A/N) Bit of a strange fic, but hey, that's what this site is for, isn't it? Takes place after the anime with some random references to events in the manga. Mostly Jing girls, I'd suspect. It's kinda like my continuation of the anime. If it makes you feel better, call it AU. Molotov and Daiquiri belong to me and no other. Now, I'm off to read Twilight Tales!

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The shopkeeper sighed and flipped through a magazine. He hated slow days. Owning a shop in Pandeamon was not all it was cracked up to be. The sound of the door opening and closing reached his ears, and he popped up out of his seat. "Hell-lo!" He chimed. "Would you be buying or selling today?" "Selling." The young man replied with a smirk. Would you be interested in buying this?" He produced from behind his back a luminescent, blue-white mask. The shopkeeper's eyes widened. Of course he would! But it wouldn't do to let his costumer know that. "Sure." He drawled, "If you're selling."

A few minutes and a far emptier wallet later, the shopkeeper once more had the store to himself, but this time he had one of the most valuable items in the land under his counter. The Vintage Smile, who would've guessed? Though how it ended up two hundred miles from Zaza he had no idea. Apparently the mask had gone missing more than a year ago. He didn't doubt that he could sell it back to the Madame Earl with ease. 'But,' He wondered, 'Who was the man that came in here? The only person who would have it in their possession would be the person that stole it in the first place, wouldn't it?' That meant that his costumer had been…

"The Bandit King!" Yelled the shopkeeper, jumping up and in turn startling a girl walking into the store.

"Uh, no." She pointed to herself. "Me, Mashenka."

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On the other side of the Pandeamon, Kir flapped uncertainly above the crowd. Trust Jing to disappear five minutes after they enter the city. The ebony bird had only turned his head for a few seconds to look at a passing beauty (Although he may have followed her in a daze for a few blocks, he really couldn't remember) and Jing was nowhere to be seen. Even with a coat so bright it could melt your eyes, the grey-eyed bandit had an irritating talent for disappearing in crowds. At this rate, it would be next week before Kir found him.

Suddenly, the hovering bird spotted a familiar sight; a navy cat with spinning eyes. With a burst of speed, Kir flapped off towards the boy bearing the cat on his head.

"Ah, Daiqui, there you are."

Kir started. The boy he had come around to face didn't look remotely like Jing. His hair was sky blue, and though cut similarly to Jing's was longer and a bit fluffier. His coat, though still far too vivid for any sane person to wear, was yellow-green instead of orange. His eyes were not steel grey, but merely a few shades darker than his hair. The cat that had led Kir to mistake the boy for Jing in the first place was in fact a hat, not a mask. The hat was made so that it appeared as if the boy's head was being eaten by an insane kitty. Kir blinked at him in surprise, and the boy blinked right back.

"Hey, you're not Daiquiri."

"Damn right I'm not!" Growled the bird. He turned to flap in the direction he had been going, when he heard a voice from back where he came. It was the hysterical scream of a female in danger.

"Fear not, my sweet!" Bellowed the crow. He boy smiled a satisfied smile. "Ah, now THAT is Daiqui."

As Kir flew onwards, a scene quickly came into view. Jing was at the center of a crowd, which had parted in a circle to watch the ongoings. That in itself was far from unusual. The part that was unusual was that Jing wasn't fighting anybody. In fact, he was fending off the attacks this time, not wanting to draw his blade for fear of hurting his opponent. The opponent was the strangest thing. It was a small, frantic bird, not unlike Kir himself. She was, apparently, the cause of the disruption.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY MOLTOV!" She screamed as she dive- bombed him once more. Jing ducked as she swooped overhead, too furious to take aim. The boy that Kir had mistaken for his own bandit walked calmly through the crowd, pushing past spectators. "'Scuse me, pardon me, coming through, watch out, maniacal bird on the loose, I'm a trained professional…" And so on. The boy stepped out into the ring and grabbed the bird's tail feathers in one smooth movement. "Sorry about that." He smiled at Jing, who smirked back good-naturedly. The female avian was nuzzling the boy and gushing about how worried she'd been. Kir looked on interestedly. As she was nuzzling his neck, he could now tell that the other bird's feathers were coal grey, and she was wearing a shirt tie the same hue as the hair of the boy she was clinging to. The crowd was starting to disperse, and Jing and the other boy looked ready to go with them. The black bird looked on incredulously. "Hello?" Am I the only one seeing double?" Both Jing and the other boy, apparently called Molotov looked causally over their shoulders, sizing each other up, then stared at Kir and replied in unison. "Yup." Then continued on their way. Kir sweatdropped. "A King of anything shouldn't be this dense." He grumbled, and drifted off after his ward.

Kir flapped easily beside his thieving friend. "Uh, hey, Jing? Remember that rumor that's going around about the Bandit King selling off his booty lately?" Jing looked calmly upwards at his companion. "Kir, you know I sell off loot as I get it." Kit looked back as he flew. "Yeah, I know. I was just wondering if maybe that guy was trying to be you or something." Jing smiled to himself and said quietly. "No, I don't think so. For one, the last account of the guy selling off stuff was in Utopia. That was only a week ago, he couldn't have gotten to Pandaemon that quickly." Kir rolled his eyes.

"I wish I had your lack of faith in the train system, Jing."