The Sweet Shop Next Door

pass the broccolini

Author's Note: Once again, my computer is ill. I'm using another to crank out the next chapter. Hope you enjoy!

Fizzko – Oh…I should've thought of that! I completely forgot about how smart rats are. I can't believe I forgot…especially considering how many times I've read "Rats of Nimh". Maybe I'll bring in intelligent mice later…

Jacator – It's a romantic/humor fic. A little bit of both. Glad you like it!

Other Reviewers – Thanks for your praise!

Chapter Four:

Just as D had predicted, it wasn't long before Eliza entered the shop of her own free will. Eliza was extremely clever, despite being a human, and had realized that the rodents and reptiles had emerged from the wall the two shops shared. She could practically envision a snickering D forcing his less popular pets to go into her shop. Animals like mice and snakes did not normally work together. Chinese voodoo, perhaps?

It infuriated her. Revenge was low, but getting the animals involved was extremely despicable. This was a problem best solved face-to-face. She realized that she had been a little harsh when they first met. Some people didn't thinking the slaughtering of animals for human profit and pleasure was wrong. It was wrong of her to yell at him the way she did, but she couldn't help it.

After taking a deep breath, she entered the shop. The same incense she remembered from the day of the mini-invasion was the same incense that overwhelmed her sense of smell in this shop.

"Miss Eliza. How good of you to join us."

D was sipping green tea while sitting, cross-legged, on his couch. He bent forward and sat the half-empty cup on the table. He seemed as calm and collected as ever, but as he stood to greet his "guest", he could barely contain his excitement. A small smirk slipped out, but was quickly smothered. Finally! Punishment for the human!

Eliza clutched her purse even more tightly and didn't budge. Furiously, she spoke.

"I know it was you! Don't deny it! That was absolutely despicable! I can't believe that even you would sink that low!"

The smirk returned.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Miss Eliza. Perhaps it is the summer heat. You must remember to keep dehydrated."

She grit her teeth angrily and stormed closer to D. Her voice rose from a condensed, suppressed angry tone to a loud, out-of-control, hell-knows-no-fury-like-an-angry-woman shout.

"Don't you dare play with me! I know it was you! As soon as I get some evidence, I'll sue!"

The shop door opened and the angry shouting match between the two was temporarily postponed. Detective Orcot walked through the doors. His attire was casual, as usual. Unwashed shirt with jeans.

"Hey D, this girl sounds like me."

"Good afternoon, Detective."

Eliza whirled around to face Leon. "What do you mean 'this girl sounds like me'? Are you one of his friends?"

"I'm Detective Leon Orcot. I've been trying to arrest D for about a year now, but I never have enough evidence. What did he do to you? Sell you an evil rabbit?"

She paused and pushed a frizzy lock of hair out of her eyes before answering. Was this some sort of joke? The detective was sort of cute…and he really didn't seem the type to hang out with guys who wore dresses. There was no harm in answering. He was a detective, after all.

"He sent rats and snakes into my store! Look! There's the hole!"

Her finger pointed to the small hole in the wall. Leon looked with interest before he was ushered out of the shop by D. There were only so many humans he could torment in his shop at one time.

"Come back later, Detective. I have a customer."

There was an unusual expression on Leon's face that D had not seen before. It wasn't happiness, anger, or jealousy. It was something else…almost as if Leon was…thinking.

"Yeah, I'll come back later. I have to get back to work. Nice meeting you, miss."

Leon nodded politely and then, without warning, rushed out of the store at a blistering pace. Before D could reflect on the peculiarity of Leon actually working, his thoughts were interrupted by the pesky frizz-ball. Had D not been completely in control of the situation, he would have found her almost frightening.

"I didn't come to buy your caged animals. I came to—"

D put a finger to her lips and for some reason, Eliza felt instantly calm. The pimple of building rage had popped and she felt like she was floating in the clouds. According to his contract as a kami, he couldn't force a human to purchase a pet. However, a little bit of calming hypnosis wasn't against the rules.

"Come in, would you?"

Silently, she followed him into the back of the store. Eliza was no longer under his control since D had broken eye contact, but strangely, she actually wanted to see what was in the store. The store had sparked her curiosity. She found herself following him past many doors.

"I didn't know this place was so big."

D paused in front of the twentieth door to the left. This was the first passive comment he had ever heard from her.

"There's a lot you don't know, miss."

He twisted the doorknob and opened the door. The smell of incense burned strongly. It irritated Eliza's nose and she sneezed.

Bless you.

Eliza jerked upwards. That voice? Where had it come from?

"Wh-who said that?"

D led her into the room. He had sensed a great deal of loneliness and despair in Eliza. This pet would do the job just right. She continued walking towards the dark figure on the pedestal.

"Oh…oh my gosh! I-it can't be!"

An unbelievably attractive man was sitting there, waiting for her. He had a small smirk on his face as he stepped towards her. He was dressed in black to match his black hair and black eyes. Everything about him seemed flawless to her. Toned muscles, perfect complexion…he looked perfect. He was a foot taller than an ordinary man. He looked strong. Maybe he would protect her and keep her company when she got lonely or scared.

Hello.

D saw the instant attraction and knew he had a sure deal. Her mouth hung slightly open. She was still in awe that such a perfect male specimen existed…and was talking to her. Sure, the whole "large, carnivorous cat" concept was a bit overused, but it was still effective.

"He's a panther from the dense tropical rainforest of south-east Asia."

The panther-man slowly circled around Eliza, watching her. Eliza remained still. Could this be real?

"If you wish to purchase him, you must agree to these conditions. Number one, never show him to anyone. Number two, feed him fresh meat every day. Number three, keep the incense I will give you burning at all times."

Eliza somehow managed to break out of her entranced gaze at the beautiful man beside her. This was wrong. This was not a panther. This was a person.

"No."

"What?"

"Thi-this isn't a panther. This is a person. Yo-you're a slave trader!"

D was used to protests such as these, but the people eventually succumbed to their inner desires and purchased the pet anyway. Humans were so predictable.

"No, miss. I assure you. This is a panther from Asia."

Tears came to Eliza's eyes. He was everything she had searched for in a man. Good-looking, strong, intelligent, caring. She could see it in his eyes. Ever since high-school when every girl except her had a date for the end-of-the-year dance, she had been hoping a man for her was out there. A man that would appreciate her for who she was. This was just…wrong. Even if he seemed perfect for her. She couldn't buy this…man, even if secretly she wanted to. It felt like her heart was breaking in two. She couldn't give up her morals for this person/panther/thing. As much as she wanted a person to share her joy with, she wanted to help the world share joy as well. How could animals and humans get along if it was constantly a superior/inferior relationship?

"No. I—I don't want it. Thi-this is wrong, and you know it. Even if it was a panther, it's still illegal! I do-don't want it!"

The panther paused and eyed Eliza warily before gracefully walking back to his pedestal. This human girl had more in her than he thought. D was sharing the panther's thoughts. It was hard, nearly impossible, for a human to give up his/her strongest desires when presented with them. This had never happened before. D was dumbstruck and didn't know what to do. She had already seen the pet and didn't like it. Were his perceptions off? Was there something else she wanted? Tears were trickling down Eliza's face and she started crying. This hadn't gone the way he planned at all. Instead of another mysterious death for the Detective to solve, he had a crying human in front of him. For some reason, he decided to comfort her. He wrapped his arms around her and kept her from collapsing into a nervous wreck on the floor.

"Shh…it's okay."

There was a knock at the door. Another customer? Well…he had already shown her the forbidden fruit and she hadn't wanted it. There was only one thing to do.

He stared into her eyes and erased her memory, starting from when he led her into the back rooms.

"I did not show you a pet. I offered you some tea. I did not show you a pet."

He maintained eye contact while slowly walking out of the room and towards the main shop entrance. The knocking was growing more frantic.

"We finished the tea and you followed me into the back rooms to put the dishes away.."

They had reached the door at the end of the hall, which led to the main entrance. He pushed it open and saw an excited Detective Orcot banging at the door. He ushered Eliza into a seat and calmly walked towards the door. Eliza woke up from her trance. Why was she here? Oh no…she actually had tea with this creep! Angry at her own weakness for tea (it was her favorite drink), she stood up and brushed her face. Faint, slightly damp traces of tears ran from her eyes down her cheeks. Had she been crying?

The knocking at the door continued and she heard D open the door. Eliza felt awkward in D's home/shop and felt that it was time for her to leave. Even if D was an animal enslaver, she should at least thank him for the tea. However, before she could speak, she was interrupted by an ecstatic detective who burst through the doors with a team of two policemen behind him. D remained calm. This was just another of Leon's attempts to blame him for everything.

"Detective. How may I help you?"

Leon could barely suppress the grin on his face as he handed D a piece of paper.

"You're in violation of Health Code #457-BDA, which forbids shops to have holes in their walls caused by animals such as rats, snakes, lizards, or any other such rodent."

One of the other cops, a large, beefy man with bad body odor, grabbed D by the arm.

"We're going to have to take you down to the station to fill out some forms."

Detective Orcot was now grinning like a madman and literally bouncing off the walls.

"HA! I told you! I knew D would someday get what's comin' to him! Woohoo!"

D was in shock. After years of completely legal contracts and agreements, he was being arrested for a…health violation? Struggling against the police would only make things worse. It was better to go along with it and pay the fine. He was hurriedly led from his shop to the cop car. The cops, during their brief visit, hadn't noticed the seated Eliza. She remained silent as she watched D escorted out of his shop, in handcuffs. The blond detective she had met earlier was whooping in joy the entire time. After they left, the shop was empty and Eliza was alone.

She stood to leave when the winged bat-bunny flew to her and perched on her shoulder. The animals! She couldn't leave them alone!

"Kyu!"

Eliza smiled and stroked Q-Chan's fur.

"Count D might not be back for a while, so I guess I'll feed you."

Q-Chan beamed and kyu-ed loudly in appreciation. She took two plastic-wrapped cookies out of her purse and broke them into pieces for Q-Chan to eat.

"This probably isn't the right stuff to feed you, but I don't know where 'the Count' keeps your food."

The bat-bunny flew down to the coffee table where Eliza had left the cookies and munched eagerly. Eliza then proceeded to tell Q-Chan all about how D had been arrested for health violations and about how she didn't believe in owning animals as pets and about her life. She reasoned with herself that the little creature probably didn't have any idea what she was saying, but it felt good to say it anyway. After her stories and supply of cookies ended, Q-Chan fluttered into her hand. Eliza smiled and gently pet the purring Q-Chan until both of them fell asleep.

Meanwhile, Count D was at the police department filling out forms with a merry, cackling Leon behind him the entire time.

"Finally! I mean, I was hoping to bring you in on something bigger, but still! Ha ha! I can't believe it!"

"Neither can I, Detective."

After four hours of paperwork and paying fines, D was finally released. He began walking back to the shop, where an unusual surprise awaited him.

So…what do you think? Even though police probably don't arrest people for having holes in their walls, I thought I had to give Leon at least one glory moment. What about the developing romance between D and Eliza? I was trying to show that Eliza was unusually strong for being able to resist her innermost desire. I'm not sure if it came off alright. Anyway, review please!