A/N: Ah! Chapter 3 is up! nice and lengthy too :) R&R plz! i'm glad all of you have liked it so far too. and thanx for the info on Sola and Luca! All fixes for chapt. 1 and 2 have been made! if u find any fixes that need to be changed in this chapter just tell me! and if u do R&R, plz tell me how u feel about this chapter if u liked it, loved it, or thought it was the best so far! lol jk just plz R&R and no flames!

Chapter 3: Why Can't We Be More Than Just Friends?

Early the next morning, Liz woke up and couldn't really get back to bed. 'Hm...let's see now, everyone wakes up around...7ish and right now it's 6:30. I guess I could pass time and go test my skills.' she thought to herself and got dressed. She entered the little dojo area, and bowed quietly to an invisible enemy.

'So, we're doing this again are we now?' her inner self asked.

"Just shut up and give me all you've got. Just no copying move for move." Liz said to herself.

'Okay, here we go!' her inner self said and charged. Liz went head on to her invisible opponent, and punched, kicked, ducked, jumped, and guarded.

"Ha! Eat this!" Liz cried and bent down low to strike a kick that tripped her inner self. She fell to the floor but regained balance as she pushed herself up by her hand, back into position.

'This is fun. I had forgotten what it felt like to spar with you.' her inner self said happily.

"Same here. Now come on, let's go!" Liz replied and charged again, moving quickly to her left she got behind her inner self and kicked. Her inner self turned around and got ahold of Liz's foot.

'Ha! Not this time!' her inner self roared. With her foot in midair, she lowered it and then jumped back into her position. She wiped some sweat from her face, and came in with an uppercut. Her inner self jumped high in the air and extended her foot to come crashing down. Liz dodged by backing away and then charged foward when her opponent hit the floor. With a punch her inner self went flying.

'Wow. You've improved. Maybe I should start training again.' her inner self chuckled as she got up painfully.

"Haha. I train a lot. We should do this more often." Liz replied with a laugh.

'Okay, let's go again!' her inner self said and charged. Liz was about to do the same when she heard someone call her name.

"Liz?" It was Takeshi, who apparently saw Liz talking to a ghost.

"T-Takeshi!" Liz cried, alarmed. Her inner self gave her a punch, but she didn't do anything.

'Aw. You're no fun. You're supposed to go flying to the ground!' her inner self pouted and then smiled when she saw Takeshi, disappearing back to Liz's mind.

"I thought someone else was in here. I decided to come a little earlier, and heard you apparently. I guess it's just you too cause I thought there were two people in here. Were you talking to someone?" he asked.

"No...just some, mental training." she replied. He yawned.

"Oh...I see. Could I, join you?" he asked and she nodded.

"It's better having a partner than just training yourself, at least, that's what I think sometimes." Takeshi said as he got into position.

"Oh so we're playing Kickin Takeshi's butt at martial arts are we? Haha. Okay get ready to lose." Liz said as she got into her position.

"I don't intend to." Takeshi replied with a smile. As he charged, she got ready. She jumped back which made him lose his balance, and she bent down low and put a blow to Takeshi. He tripped and fell on his back.

"Ouch. You mean business." Takeshi muttered with a painful laugh as she helped him up.

"I always do when I'm against you." she said proudly.

"I'll take that as a compliment. Round two, here we go!" he cried and sprang into action. He punched and kicked, she blocked both times.

"Come on Takeshi! Or are you better with your swords?" she asked him as she went on the offensive. He blocked every one, and managed to shoot her down. She fell with a thud, but quickly recovered and charged foward with a punch! Takeshi dodged, a little on the sluggish side, and it cost him being tripped...again. This time though he too was able to recover, and outstretched his hand he moved his fingers foward to him, and she twitched her eye with a broad smile.

"Oho. I'll take that as a 'death wish'." she said with a laugh.

"Oh be afraid, be VERY afraid." he replied with a look that should have frightened her. Instead she stopped her position and laughed out loud.

"And THAT's supposed to scare me? HAHAHA!" she laughed.

"Aw c'mon, you're no fun." he said with a frown and slumped his shoulders.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. How about this?" she asked and looked afraid enough to make him laugh too.

"That's good enough. Okay, enough of this, let's do it!" Takeshi said and came with a knee to her chin. She gave a suprised look and narrowly dodged the attack. She was then able to use her elbow and force it down on his knee.

"Owowowowow!" he cried as he hopped around holding his injured knee.

"S-sorry! Was that too hard!" she asked in alarm, but not enough to make her lose her guard.

"Sort-of!" he replied as he set his leg down gently, wincing a little at the pain.

"I'm sorry." Liz said and bowed respectfully in apology.

"H-hey it's no problem. But uh, could we um...take a break and resume this later?" he asked and she nodded.

As Takeshi rested and sat down on a bench, Liz came over with a sack of ice.

"I'm really sorry Takeshi. Here." she said and placed it on his injured knee.

"Aaaaah..that feels much better. Thank you Liz." he said with a warm smile. She blushed a little.

"Aw shucks it's nothin." she replied sheepishly.

"Um, while we're er-I," he corrected himself.

"Yeah?" Liz asked.

"Um...while I'm recovering and we're just sitting here right now, it's come to my attention that something is bothering you. Mind telling me what it is?" he asked as he faced her.

"Uh..." was Liz's response. 'Come on Liz, now should be the time to tell him! After all ,it's only 6:45! You can do it! I'm rooting for you!' her inner self roared in her head.

"Well..." she began. 'Go girl go!' her inner self cheered.

"Ya? Go on." Takeshi encouraged her.

"I um...Takeshi, I've sorta...well I...um...sorta..." she started and she began to fluster, she could feel herself get all hot and sweaty.

"You sort of, what?" Takeshi asked. 'I wish he weren't so stupid and get the picture that I'm trying to tell him that I like him like him! That way I wouldn't have to tell him!' she thought as her eye twitched inside her head.

"I...Takeshi I...TakeshiIsortareallyreallylikeyouasinIreallyloveyou! There, I said it!" she said in one heap. He blinked several times, his eyes were wide. 'Oh god Oh god please let his response be...okay...' she thought. As he finally got something to say, she listened carefully. This answer might be one worth while to hear, or the death of her confession to him.

"I'm sorry Liz but could you um..repeat that? I didn't get it all you said it too fast an' stuff." he said and she felt a vein pop, and her eye twitching like crazy.

"You idiot! Repeat it? Do you realize how hard it was for me to come clean and say that I really like you!" she cried and then clamped her mouth shut. As this Takeshi's mouth dropped, and he blinked several times, more than before.

"Y...Y-you like me, as in...like me like me?" he repeated.

"Y...yes..." she said, her voice was as silent as a mouse.

"Liz I...I..." he started, and sighed. She wondered what the hell did that mean. 'What the hell does that mean?'

"Don't say anything Takeshi...I'm sorry maybe I shouldn'tve said anything. It's clear that you still love Fantine and I'm just your friend I get it. I just thought...well, I mean, I told Amy about it and she told me to-...you now what, nevermind. If you don't wanna finish our match we'll leave it as a tie." Liz said, her voice was a little bitter.

"No no...we'll continue the match. I just, Liz, I...sorta, like you like you too ya know but um...I just don't think, it's the right time I guess." he said, his voice was a little shaky. 'Probably of shock.' she thought to herself and then thought to herself, 'But why can't we be more than just friends? I mean, if you sorta like me can't we start from there!' She wanted to say that to him right then and there, she wanted to scream it to him, but decided to keep that inside.

"Of course...I get it. Um, if you're ready let's get back to our fight." she said and before he could do anything she went over to get ready for her attacks. As he walked over, he thought to himself, 'I really like her too. I guess, I just never realized that I really cared about her as more than a friend until now. Maybe, maybe this was why Fantine broke up with me, she did say that Liz would be better and all...Hm, as a matter of fact, I'm beginning to think, that just maybe some time in the future I'll be able to tell Liz that I really, truly care for her too.' and smiled.

"Okay. You ready?" he said with a smile.

"You seemed to recover so quickly. I'm glad." she said to him with a smile.

"Yup. Now, let's finish this so I can win and rub it in your face." he said and got into position.

"Sorry Takeshi, but it's the other way around." she said and he snickered in delight. They fought, and Liz shot a fist to his face. He dodged and countered with a kick to the stomach. She caught his foot, pushed it out of the way, grabbed hold of his arm, and flipped him over to on his back. As she gave him a smile, he smiled back and caught her off guard. He used his captured hand to grab her wrist and she toppled over! He was able to break free and sent a kick flying to her face. She quickly rolled over and got up, did a backward summersalt into the air and landed majestically.

"Since when did you learn moves from Luca? After all, cats do land on their feet." Takeshi joked. Liz laughed.

"That was slightly funny, and somewhat a little bit lame. C'mon Takeshi, is that all you can muster?" she asked him challengingly.

"Dream on Liz. This round two is just starting!" he replied and charged with a kick. She jumped backwards and then rushed past his foot. She grabbed his arm again, but this time went behind him and brought it up to his back.

"With one free arm, you can't do anything with the other." she said and pinned him down to the ground. What he was able to do with his free arm made Liz suprised. His free arm was able to pull her hair.

"Argh! Takeshi you!" Liz cried and let go of his captured arm to hold in tears.

"Sorry Liz! It was the only thing I could think of that would get you off! It's nothing personal!" he said as he waved his hands in front of him nervously.

"Well, at least you didn't pull any harder." Liz replied with a pout.

"I'm sorry!" he apologized once more.

"Nah. It's all right. Let's continue though." Liz said and he only nodded. As they fought again, Takeshi gave a jab and Liz avoided it to give him a push that made him lose his balance. As he fell he quickly regained his position and charged. Liz was ready this time, and got into position for an attack that would blow him away. 'This is it! Don't lose now Takeshi!' he thought to himself and charged even faster. Liz wasn't sure that she would be able to pull off her big move, but she waited for him to get closer. When he was finally close enough, he tripped on something and began to fall!

"WAAAAHH!" he cried and toppled over her. As Takeshi stared at her and she stared at him, they blinked many times and blushed just a little. Liz gulped, and then felt something touching in a place that wasn't supposed to be there. She looked at her chest and then gasped, becoming even more flustered!

"AAH! TAKESHI YOU! YOU! YOU!" Liz cried indisbelief.

"Huh? A-aaH!" he cried as he looked down to notice. He quickly got off of Liz, andshe jumped to her feet, steam began to show.

"Takeshi you! Do you have any idea what you were doing? WERE YOU EVEN CONCIOUS! YOU! ARGH!" Liz spazzed.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I thought it was the floor! I thought...Um, at least that broke my fall..." he tried to joke and got a fist to his face. He fell on the floor, X's replaced his eyes.

"YOU SHOULDN'T EVEN BE JOKING LIKE THAT! YOU! YOU PERVERT! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU!" Liz cried, her face was all red, and he could see once he regained conciousness. As she began to storm off to her room, Takeshi followed close behind, apologizing all the way.

"Liz I'm sorry! It was an accident! I never intended for that to happen really I didn't!" he said to her.

"I don't wanna hear it Takeshi! Not another word!" she cried as they reached her room. As she slammed the door in his face, he could only suggest, "Can I at least take you out for dinner this evening? I mean...it's only 7:00." That made Liz open her door just a crack. This time her voice was casual toned.

"Are you asking me out, Takeshi?" she asked.

"Ummm...yes? Sort of?..." he replied. She thought about it, and then smiled a little.

"Okay. Your treat. You're going to pay for all of it too. Until then don't talk to me." she said and re-slammed the door.

"All of it?...Oh man this makes me even more worried." he said with a sigh and went back to the training area.

Liz sighed as she flopped on her bed. 'That jerk! How could he? Argh!' she thought. She turned around and stared at the ceiling. She had to admit, for a second she thought Takeshi was blushing, for her because he had liked her, cared for her as she cared for him.

'You know, that was a touching moment.' her inner self joked.

"What the hell do you know? That wasn't a touching-well, it sorta-Hey!" Liz cried and steamed.

'Chill, just breathe. Gosh you're such a funsucker.' her inner self said.

"That was an embarrassing moment. Although, I thought he was blushing at me when he was on top of me." Liz said.

'I think he was. From my perspective I think he was. No, I know he was. And now, you're going on a date! Lucky!' her inner self said. Liz laughed at that one.

"I do feel...pretty good that he suggested it. But I'm sure it's only an apology dinner, nothing more." Liz said.

'Why do you always have to be so negative? Negativety will get you nowhere in relationships like this one has started to blossom.' her inner self huffed.

"Hm...yeah. I guess you're right." Liz said with a smile.

'Whoa. Did my ears just decieve me? You're actually agreeing with me? Wow. It's a start.' her inner self said with a nod.

"Don't make me go back on what I just said." Liz warned with a laugh.

'Oh I won't I won't! I'm just savoring the moment.' her inner self replied and the two laughed. For once no fights occured in her head.

Suddenly, Liz heard a knock on her door. 'That better not be Takeshi!' she thought and opened it. It was Miss Satomi.

"Oh. Hey there Miss Satomi. I already did training if that was what you wanted to know." Liz said.

"That's good to hear Liz. We just wanted to round up you and Takeshi. We're gonna see what you can do against Team Sledge Mamma in the simulation chamber. See how your teamwork is." Miss Satomi explained.

"Oh...all right. Let's go then." Liz said and met Takeshi and the others at the simulation. As they got into the cockpit, the race began.

"Okay Takeshi, let's do it." Liz said and Takeshi's reply was, "Y-yeah."

"Listen, I'm not mad at you anymore so get your act together and let's win this fight together." Liz explained and she could hear Takeshi sigh with relief.

"Okay. Let's do it!" Takeshi said and raced ahead, Liz close behind. With the first round finished, Sledge Mamma was still in the lead. As they turned around, Takeshi and Liz were ready for them. They charged at their opponents, and attacked with everything they had.

"Takeshi! Don't let them get to ya! Give em all you've got!" he heard Liz say to him.

"RIGHT!" Takeshi replied and fought back against Yamma's mech. As there was punch for punch, neither was giving in. As Yamma pulled off a kick to the side, Takeshi went flying back! Luckily he caught his balance and charged foward, faster than the speed of light. He put his whole energy into one good punch, and it made it's hit to Yamma's side. Yamma went flying back, and Takeshi raced to the front. Yamma regained his lost balance, and went after Takeshi. Giving a suprise attack to Takeshi, he was caught off guard and now on the defensive.

"Take this you piece of scrap metal!" Liz roared and went all-out offensive. River's mech did his best in blocking, but only critical hits made it to him. The mech went crashing to the ground, sparks flying as River tried to regain balance. When he finally got up, Liz tackled him back down.

"Oh no you don't!" she said and continued her pursuit. As River was badly damaged, he tried going on the offensive. Caught unaware of it when River managed to lay a blow on her leg, Liz was pummeled to the ground! She tried to get up, and was in for a bumpy ride when River wouldn't let her go.

"RAGH!" she cried and pushed with all her might! River flew into the air, but did a backward summersalt and his leg was extended out. As Liz was able to just barely get back up, she was forced back down by River's leg. As he made contact with her mech, he kicked back to jump off of her and onto the track.

"Damn...Takeshi I need your help! I'm in bad shape!" Liz said to Takeshi. Unfortunately, he had his hands tied up as well.

"I'm coming Liz! I'll be right there after I get rid of Yamma!" Takeshi said to her.

"Hurry! I don't think I'll be able to take much more of this!" Liz managed to say back. As she finally got up with no interference, she had to go on the defensive, her mech was in pretty bad shape. Now River gave her everything he had. She grunted as she blocked, vibration made her feel like she was on a neverending roller coaster ride.

"Take this!" Takeshi roared as he tackled Yamma's mech to the ground. When he was down, Takeshi ran foward, and then did a summersalt in the air! 'Almost there..just a little closer!' he thought to himself as he was looking down at River's mech. When he had reached enough, he came crashing down and nailed River's mech to the ground.

"Liz! Sorry I took so long, you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah! Thanks." she said with a smile and then gasped in suprise.

"Takeshi watch out!" she cried but it was too late. Yamma's mech managed to shove him out of the way, and he lost control of his mech.

"AAAHHH!" he shouted as he tumbled and went crashing.

"TAKESHI!" Liz roared and destroyed Yamma's mech with a punch to the chest and a kick to the side, and rushed to Takeshi's side, trying her best to catch up with the damaged mech. When Takeshi could feel no more harsh vibration, he looked up and saw that Liz had gotten ahold of him and pulled him up so he would be balanced enough to make it to the finish line.

"Thanks." he said and began to blush. 'She did that for me...because she cared so much about me.' he thought with a smile.

"No problem. Let's get to the finish line." Liz replied and the two damaged mechs finished in lightning speed. As the two both exited from their cockpits, they both took a deep deep sigh.

"Good job you two. You actually won against them." Andrei said.

"For a second I wasn't sure if you were going to win or get beaten." Miss Satomi said.

"If that's supposed to make us feel better about the win, it's not working." Liz said with a laugh.

"Um, Liz, thanks for what you did for me back there in the simulation." Takeshi said when he came over.

"What? Oh. It was nothing Takeshi." Liz replied with a smile. Takeshi smiled too, but Liz felt like that smile was one that spoke LOVE. She blushed. Mark and Andrei snickered, and Miss Satomi couldn't help but giggle.

"Wh-what? What are you guys laughing about?" Takeshi asked and Liz frowned.

"Nothing, nothing at all. It's just that- you two- nevermind." Andrei said and continued to chuckle in delight.

"We already told you! Don't make me repeat myself!" Takeshi warned.

"But...huccum we can't be more than just friends..." Liz said quietly.

"What was that, Liz?" Miss Satomi asked, she had heard every word that came out of Liz's mouth.

"N-nothing ma'am! I was just about to back Takeshi up that's all!" Liz replied nervously.

"...Right. Anyways, I've decided to give you guys a day off. You've worked hard. Maybe you should go visit Amy." Miss Satomi said. 'That and make this little relationship stronger perhaps.' she thought and her eyes had a little sparkle show.

"Thanks!" the two said and bowed as they ran out the door.

"I didn't think they'd go so soon..." Miss Satomi said, her hair a little messed up since both Takeshi and Liz ran out with a gust of air.

"Let them enjoy the time they have together." Andrei replied and Mark laughed out loud.

As the two raced out, they finally stopped by the park to catch their breath.

"All right! A day off!" Takeshi cried happily.

"Yeah! Say Takeshi, before we go see Amy, do you think you could do me a favor and help me out with baking a cake for Amy? I mean...the last one I did turned into a disaster. Maybe with your help I could do it." Liz said.

"Sure. As long as it won't take that much time. A cake sounds nice." Takeshi replied and the two went to work at Takeshi's, with his parents permission.

"Okay...so we have all the ingredients and the recipe. Let's get to it." she said and began to bake while Takeshi either handed the ingredients, or held the recipe up for Liz to see. As Liz concentrated hard not to mess up, she accidently bumped into Takeshi who landed on the ground, the recipe slid under the kitchen table.

"Oops. Sorry Takeshi I didn't mean to ram into you. Do you think you could reach and get the recipe?" she asked and he nodded slightly. When he came back up she looked at it carefully, and put in what it said.

"Uh, Liz, I think that's wrong." Takeshi said when he saw Liz pour too much flower, with some spoon fulls of sugar.

"What're you talking about? It says right there to-" she looked at the top, and the cake was wrong.

"TAKESHI! YOU IDIOT! YOU FLIPPED THE CARD OVER TO THE OTHER CAKE!" Liz cried and started to whack Takeshi on the head.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry!" he apologized.

"GET OVER HERE YOU!" Liz cried, flour in her hand. She accidently tripped though on something and the flour went flying. There was a cloud of dust in the kitchen.

"Oh brother, what did you guys...do?" Yuri, Takeshi's younger sister asked as she came in the kitchen. She shrieked in suprise when she saw Takeshi and Liz covered in flour.

"Wow bro, you look paler than ever." Yuri giggled.

"GET OUTTA HERE SIS!" Takeshi roared and Yuri rushed out, saying, "I'm telling mom when they get back what mess you maaaade!" Liz coughed a little, and helped Takeshi up. She stared at him and started to laugh.

"Man Takeshi, and I thought I looked bad enough. Your sister's right you look like a ghost! Hahahaa!" Liz cracked up. Takeshi only put on a blank face.

"Thanks. At least I don't look like that." he teased and Liz twitched her eye.

"Takeshi. That's enough outta you." she said with a glare and he backed away slowly. When the two cleaned up, they went to the hospital.

"So much for the cake..." Liz grumbled silently as they were walking down the hospital hallway.

"Say Liz, do you think you could go back to my house and grab me my cell phone? I think I left it there by accident, please?" he asked.

"Why don't you get it yourself? It's your house!" she protested.

"Yaa...but who's taking you out to dinner and paying for every last penny?" he asked and waved his finger in her face. Liz growled, and reluctantly raced off to Takeshi, while Takeshi rushed to Amy's room to have a little private chat before Liz's return.

"Hey there Amy." Takeshi said with a smile and a wave.

"Hello, Takeshi." she replied with a grin as Luca meowed.

"Listen, Amy, there's something I need to talk to you about." he said.

"Is it about Liz?" Amy asked.

"Sorta. She told me this morning that she really liked me, but I-"

"Oh! What happened? How'd it happen? Did you take it well? What was your reply? Don't leave me stranded Takeshi tell me!" Amy exclaimed.

"Whoa whoa! Haha. I asked her what was wrong and she told me, and then I said that I sorta liked her liked her too but it was just too soon and all to be certain, and she took it...okay. Then I got myself into trouble cause I accidently toppled over her and um...let's just say my hand landed on top of her chest by accident and she got all mad at me. So now I asked her out to dinner and she said that I have to pay for all of it, which I don't blame her for being mad at me, but um...what if she takes advantage of my money?" he said all at once.

"Takeshi! Y-you pervert you!" was Amy's first response.

"N-no! It's not like that!" he cried to defend himself and she sighed.

"Well, at least you asked her out. I'm sure she won't take advantage of you and your money." Amy said.

"Yes. Wait, you think I asked her out on a date? N-no it's just um...a sorry dinner." he said.

"Oh really? Then, does that mean you don't like her like she likes you?" Amy asked.

"Um yes, I mean no...I mean...uh...I don't know." he finally said and slumped his shoulders.

"Hm...well, do you think you're ready for Liz? Or are you still in love with Fantine?" Amy asked. "Be honest." she added.

"Well...I am still upset about Fantine if that's why she broke up with me. But the last couple of days with Liz haven't been bad at all. I've really liked them. And when she confessed to me I didn't realize until that moment how much I cared about her too. But still, Fantine is still in my head." he said. There was a silence, and until Luca yawned and rolled over on her other side, Amy spoke up.

"Hm...well, what are you going to do about it?" she asked.

"I thought you had an answer actually..." Takeshi replied frankly.

"I don't have an answer for everything Takeshi. This is between you, Liz, and Fantine." Amy replied. Takeshi sighed and slumped down in a chair, hands over his face. He rubbed his temples, and thought about what to do.

"Takeshi..." he heard Liz hiss. He looked at her, she looked pretty mad. She was out of breath panting like crazy, and her eyes were squinted to the point where anger could be seen.

"Um, y-yes?" he asked.

"Your cell phone...it wasn't there." Liz said.

"Oh? I thought I...oh! Here it is." he said innocently and pulled it out of his jacket pocket.

"TAKESHI!" Liz roared and Takeshi burst from the hospital door, running like the wind down the hallway as Liz chased right after. Luca meowed.

"Three...two...one." Amy counted. Suddenly a loud crash could be heard from down the hall. Luca shot up, his fur standing on all ends until Amy settled him down with a laugh. She could only wonder what happened that made Liz and Takeshi knock over what sounded like cups, plates, pans, dishes, and any other kind of silverware or whatever. She had a sweatdrop on the side of her forehead, and Luca hissed angrily at Takeshi and Liz when they both came back in. Food was on their clothes, and their heads. Amy opened her mouth to have it interrupted.

"You don't want to know." they said in unison.

As evening finally approached, Takeshi gulped as he was able to get dressed up for tonight. 'Oh boy...I hope Liz doesn't order too much food...' he thought. As he waited outside of her door, he looked up and gasped when he saw Liz. She looked very beautiful, lipstick and everything. Her dress was the one she had worn for any real special occasion. The color was blue, and it looked magnificent on her. He could feel himself blush as he looked at her.

"Something wrong, Takeshi?" she asked him.

"N-no! I was just...you look-... nice." he said with a gulp as he shot up abruptly. Liz blushed.

"Thanks. Now let's go eat shall we?" Liz said and they went to the chinese restaurant, Liz's favorite. As they walked down the street, Takeshi couldn't help but keep blushing every time he looked at Liz. 'Wow...she's really...beautiful. And...wow...' was all he could think of.

"Takeshi, you've been staring at me ever since we left. What's going on?" Liz asked.

"Nothing! I'm just...well, it's just that uh...I already told you you look...nice." he repeated.

"Nice huh? Thanks but um, stop staring at me." Liz replied when they reached the restaurant. As they were seated, Liz looked over the menu, Takeshi didn't like what she seemed to have planned to order. As the waiter came over, they first ordered two apetizers and some sweet and sour soup.

"Liz, what are you planning on ordering?" Takeshi asked.

"Just wait and see Takeshi. Patience is a virtue after all." Liz replied as she blew on her soup and sipped quietly and slowly, trying not to burn her tongue. When the apetizers were done, it was time for the main course. Takeshi ordered curry, ramen, and rice. Now, it was Liz's turn. 'Oh boy...please Liz don't make me go bankrupt!' he thought as in his mind, he clapped his hands together in a praying position.

"I'll have a small bowl of Fried Rice, some Fried Dumplings, and a medium dish of Lo Mein please." she said and Takeshi opened one eye.

"Is that it?" Takeshi asked. Liz smiled and nodded.

"Yup. Unless you want me to get some other stuff." she replied.

"No no! That's...fine." he said with a grin.

"Be glad I went easy on you this time, Takeshi." she said with a smile and decided to have a sip of her tea. When the main meal finally came, and the bill was recieved, Takeshi was thankful that it wasn't too much for him. As they exited the quiet restaurant, it was getting really dark. As they walked silently back to Satomi HQ, they stopped under a lamp post.

"Thanks for the dinner, Takeshi." Liz said with a short bow.

"Ha. It was nothing I'm glad you liked it." Takeshi replied with a grin.

"Um, just, one thing I'd like to know, Takeshi." she said quietly.

"Hm? Yeah?" he asked.

"Was this a dinner date, or just a sorry dinner for this morning?" she asked him. Takeshi was silent, and didn't know how to respond to her question.

"Don't worry I won't be upset...at least, I'll try no to." she said with a weak smile.

"Well...at first it was just a sorry dinner for this morning, but I guess it was sorta a..date." he replied.

"You don't mean that, do you.." she said quietly.

"Liz...I...no. I'm sorry it's just that...I've been thinking about it for a long time now ever since you brought up the fact that you really liked me." he said.

"I see..." Liz said. She felt like he had just destroyed her completely. Why was she feeling so bad, especially now when she always had doubts all along? Maybe...maybe it was because, she finally thought that Takeshi had truly cared for her as she did for him.

"Liz...I'm sorry." he said. Anger began to rise, and she wasn't thinking clearly enough. All at once she lashed out at him angrily.

"Don't say you're sorry! I mean...if you do really like me like you say you do, then why don't we...why can't we just start from there? Is that too much to ask? Why can't we be more than just friends now?" she shouted. She felt it, tears beginning to form. Takeshi was stunned, he felt a painful feeling in his gut. There was no reply. He couldn't reply.

"Why won't you answer! Takeshi! Give me an answer! I demand an answer dammit!" she cried, tears running down her face. Takeshi didn't know what to say. How to answer, it was as if that moment was paused, and he couldn't say anything. Liz bit her lip and her shoulders shook as she looked at the ground.

"Forget this...just- forget the fact that I ever told you that I cared for you! That I...I..loved you.." she said hoarsely and rushed past him back to Satomi's.

"Liz...w-wait! Liz!" he called after her, his hand outstretched in a position to make her come back. He was still standing in place, shock and grief, and so many different emotions swirled inside. As he lowered his arm, he placed them in his pockets and sulked as he walked back home. 'This sucks...dammit all Liz! I...I do care for you I really do, it's just...I'm still a little bit in love with Fantine...' he thought to himself. If he told her that, then he'd truly break her heart... and he knew it. When he finally was out of sight from the lampost, the light began to flicker on and off until the bulb finally cracked, splitting down the middle in a zig zag-ish path, making darkness replace the light.

A/N: Here's chapter 3! Wow, looks like a great day turned sour. How will Liz and Takeshi resolve it? Will Liz continue to love Takeshi, or will she try and forget her hidden feelings for him? Will Takeshi finally be able to tell Liz the truth about his hidden feelings for her, or will he keep lingering in the past with his relationship with Fantine? And what about Fantine? How long will she be in Takeshi's love life? Will he go back to her, or start a new love relationship with Liz? Will Fantine accept if he does, or help him and Liz become a couple? So many questions about this unanswered relationship will be answered in the upcoming chapters! As for now, To Be Continued...