A/N: I'm glad ev'ryone who's read this story likes it so far! I'm very happy and pleased too. Ah yes, the inner Liz. I remember from on ep. she talks to herself in the mirror, so i thought that was her 'inner self'. anyways, lol. But argh! I am soooo mad at Toonami I could just go over there and kick their butt! IGPX isn't on there anymore, and when they return the show will be on at midnight! I can't stay up that long! parents won't allow me...--; aarrgghh! STUPID TOONAMI! grrrrrr . . . besides that, happy reading

Chapter 4: Love Triangle

Liz rushed back to Satomi HQ. She burst through the doors and raced up to her room. Miss Satomi, Andre, Mark, and Jesse could only see tears that were left behind, and wondered what had happened (Jesse was filled in on the little love relationship Takeshi and Liz seemed to have). Liz ran to her room, and slammed the door. She slid quietly down to the floor and hugged her legs tightly as she cried and cried. She had forgotten what it had felt like, to be heartbroken, to cry...to be so, helpless... She looked at her arm, some tears had fallen. She sniffled and looked at them, and then wiped the tears from her face. But they kept coming, and she decided to cry until she couldn't find the strength to cry anymore.

'What happened? Everything seemed to be going great!' her inner self cried in disbelief.

"Just leave me alone! I don't wanna talk about anything right now!" Liz shouted back.

'But I can help! Well, I could try to!' her inner self protested.

"JUST GO AWAY!" Liz roared and her inner self backed away slowly to the deepest part of the poor girl's mind. Liz continued to cry, her mind was spinning in darkness...

'Why don't you love me?' she asked inside.

'Don't you care for me?' she wondered.

'Am I nothing to you?' she asked.

'Why...why am I feeling these things?...' she wondered.

'I need...love. I need your love, Takeshi...you give me true happiness inside even though I have been without love, that kind of love...a feeling that continues to haunt me in my sleep.' she thought. As she clenched a fist, she kept thinking about the events that had just happened. She thought of everything, she remembered what she had said to Takeshi now. 'I wouldn't blame him if he went back to Fantine...' she thought and changed into her pjs, put a sign outside that said 'Don't Bother ME! If You Step One Foot Into This Room You're DEAD MEAT!', slowly crept into bed, and pulled the sheets over her whole self. She hugged her pillow tightly, and tears began to fall again. 'Stupid Takeshi...why couldn't he just answer my question? Then again, if he had answered I probably would say more hurtful things to him...' she thought and shut her eyes tightly, hoping the tears would finally stop so she could go to bed. Now she really needed rest. All of this crying brought her stomach pains and a major headache. When she finally went to sleep, all of a sudden she heard a thumping from her door...

"Liz? Liz! Liz are you all right in there?" the voice continued to call her name and knock on the door loudly.

"I'm fine! I'M-FINE!" Liz managed to say. She had realized that her tears never truly stopped, and wiped them away. She hurriedly got dressed, and then opened the door slowly to be blinded by the sunlight. She opened her eyes painfully to see Miss Satomi look at her, concern was written all over.

"I'm okay." she said to her quietly.

"Are you sure? I came to get you because we were going to do another practice but you don't look well at all and-"

"I'm-Fine." Liz repeated herself, a little more fiercely but quietly.

"Ah...All right. We'll meet you downstairs then. Amy will be joining us today." Miss Satomi said and Liz nodded as the two walked down to the simulations. When they reached, Liz's expression was blank when she saw Takeshi.

"Good morning Liz." Amy said brightly. Luca meowed happily, glad to be back in his Satomi cockpit outfit again.

"M-morning, Liz." Takeshi said a little wary.

"Morning." she said monotonously as she too put on her suit. Amy looked confused, and Luca looked worried. As they got into their cockpits, the simulation began.

"Takeshi, is Liz all right?" Amy asked.

"Did something bad happen between you two?" Luca asked. Another reason why he liked being back. He could actually talk to them in human tongue.

"Well...let's talk about this later." Takeshi replied.

"Liz are you okay?" Amy asked.

"I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me Amy." Liz replied with a small smile. As the second round began, Liz demolished her opponent in seconds, and then went on to the finish line. She would only go back or slow down to either help Amy or Takeshi, or to let them catch up with her. When the simulation was over, Liz was first with Takeshi and Amy coming in second and third.

"Liz that was...amazing. You didn't give your opponent any time to react at all." Amy said in awe.

"Aheheh. Yeah, I was just focusing on winning, that's all." Liz replied with a nervous laugh as she placed her hand over her head.

"Yeah that was cool." Takeshi said, hoping Liz wouldn't yell at him since he said a compliment.

"Thanks, Takeshi." she said in her casual tone, but managed to smile. Takeshi couldn't help but think that smile was fake, and just put on for show so Amy wouldn't get involved in their little dilemna. Sensing the mood, Luca meowed.

"That's a great idea Luca! Luca suggested we all go out for lunch today. It's been a while since I've been out for fresh air and all." Amy said to them and they grinned.

"That's a pretty good idea. Way to go Luca." Liz said as she pet him on the head. He purred softly and had his tail go under Liz's chin which made her giggle in delight.

"Yeah. I can't wait." Takeshi said with a laugh. He couldn't help but smile at Liz's happiness, it made him feel happy too. As they all went out for lunch, they were able to round up what picnic food they had and brought out a blanket to sit on at the park.

"So Amy, are you ready for the race?" Takeshi asked.

"You bet I am! I'm more than just ready, I'm ready to kick Team Sledge Mamma's butt!" she cried happily. Liz laughed as she sipped her iced tea.

"You can come out now. I'm sorry for yelling at you last night, I was just feeling a little...off." she said inside her head and her inner self appeared, a little reluctant at first, but managed to smile.

'What happened exactly? From what I could see everything was flawless! Great!' her inner self asked.

"Yeah...everything going so smoothly, and then I had to ruin it. You were there when I lashed out at Takeshi, right?" Liz replied.

'Well...I sorta left after you said, 'Don't be sorry!'.' her inner self confessed. 'Cause you sounded really mad and hurt ya know? That and I had a feeling things would get ugly.' she added.

"Oh...well, to make it short I got mad at Takeshi and started to lose my temper to the point where I showed Takeshi the other side of me. The one that's actually the emotional one." Liz explained.

'Oooo...that bad, huh? Did you get an answer?' her inner self asked, her arms folded across her chest as she balanced herself on one leg with the other slightly slouched.

"I don't think...I really gave him time to answer. Everything happend so quickly even I can't remember all the facts." Liz replied with a sigh.

'What do you plan to do now? Should he apologize, or should you?' her inner self asked.

"Aren't you the one that usually gives me the advice?" Liz asked.

'Sorry chica, but this is out of my hands. This is for you to decide. Either find a way to make amends, or spend the rest of your life alone...well, not entirely because I'll always be around.' her inner self replied as she shrugged simply, a small smile appeared right after. 'Sorry that sounded harsh.' her inner self added.

"Man..." Liz said with a puzzled look on her face as she ruffled up her hair. "Just when I thought that I was seperated from the love triangle once and for all." she said with a sigh and returned to reality.

"Say, Liz, I know that this might be a wrong time to say this but-" she heard Takeshi start as he gave her a very sad look.

"What is it, Takeshi?" she asked.

"I...I'm-" he started and stood up, looking her straight in the eyes.

"I'm sorry for last night, and I hope you can forgive me." he said an bowed in apology. Liz blinked a couple of times, and didn't know what to say. If anything, it was to be her that needed to apologize not him.

"I can't forgive you Takeshi." she said and stood up as well. Amy just sat down and looked at the two. Takeshi gave her a dumbfound look.

"Because...I should be apologizing. I mean, I didn't even give you a chance to answer...I got too worked up and stuff and I wasn't thinking clearly. If anything, I should be asking for your forgiveness. I'm sorry." she said and bowed to him. He smiled at her, and she began to feel happier again, as if everything before that fight disappeared.

"How can I not forgive you, Liz? Nobody could ever not forgive to a wonderful person like yourself." he said to her and Amy smiled widely with a happy little gasp.

"T..Takeshi that's..." Liz started and blushed.

"Wh-what?..." he asked, uncertain what would happen next.

"That's the nicest thing anyone's said to me!" she said happily and gave him a hug that knocked him to the ground.

"Ahehehh..." he only replied happily with a smile. Liz gave him a kind smile, and then got up off of him. He brushed himself off and they sat back down.

"Does this mean you guys are really boyfriend girlfriend now!" Amy asked in an excited tone.

"I don't know yet, what's your reply Takeshi? To what I...asked yesterday." Liz asked.

"Liz...I...hm...I have to take care of something first before I can truly answer your question." he said as best and honestly as he could.

"I see. I'll wait until then Takeshi." Liz said. 'I'll wait forever if I have to.' she thought to herself. As their picnic continued, someone was watching from a far distance. She was so happy for Liz, and for Takeshi. At the same time though, she felt pain and sorrow deep within. 'Oh Takeshi...I'm glad that you and Liz are beginning to blossom, but I...' "I miss you so much..." Fantine said to herself and walked off silently. 'Looks like I'm still in the love triangle...and that goes for all of us.'

"Say, do you guys wanna go for ice cream?" Takeshi suggested as he pointed to the ice cream man.

"Ice cream would be nice." Amy said as she clapped her hands together happily.

"Yeah. Why're you bein so nice Takeshi?" Liz teased.

"Can't I be nice? Normally I'm my usual grumpy self right?" Takeshi countered and Liz laughed.

"Ha! You got me there. All right let's go get some ice cream." Liz said and they went to the ice cream man. He gave them what they wanted, and they happily walked over to where the ocean was. A light breeze blew, and Liz enjoyed it so much.

"How's your ice cream Liz?" Takeshi asked as he walked over to her.

"Great. Yours?" he nodded in response.

"What about you Amy?" Takeshi asked.

"Mm-hm. It's really good I haven't had great food like this in a long time! The hospital food sort of grew on you if you had to eat it every day." Amy replied as she licked in satisfaction. Luca wailed a meow, and Amy kneeled down so Luca could have a lick. He put a cat smile and meowed in satisfaction.

"Luca likes it too." she added and Takeshi and Liz smiled. As the four looked out to the ocean, they smiled at it's beauty.

"It's so peaceful here." Takeshi said and took a deep breath in.

"It's like you lose a part of yourself that just wants to look at this beautiful sight forever." Liz said and the two gave her a stare. She blushed.

"Wh-what!" she asked innocently.

"Nothing. It's just well put that's all. Luca and I sort of feel the same way." Amy replied slightly and Luca meowed and purred. Takeshi laughed. As the three continued their afternoon peacefully, everything was going well.

'Wow. Seems like you're having fun.' Liz's inner self said.

"Of course. Today's a great day!" Liz replied happily as she stretched.

'I'm glad...' her inner self replied quietly.

"Something wrong? Normally I'm the one that sulks." Liz said, a puzzled look on her face.

'What? Oh nothing is wrong. Haha I guess your sulkiness has rubbed off on me.' her inner self replied sheepishly.

"Um...okay. Haha, sulkiness, well put." Liz teased.

"Um, hey you guys I'm going to go back to Satomi HQ. Luca wants to have his sun bath nap." Amy said and that snapped Liz out of her mind.

"All right. Hope you have a nice nap Luca." Takeshi said and Luca purred as he closed his eyes.

"Leaving so soon? Well, cats do need their rest after all." Liz said as she walked over to them.

"Yeah. Well, see you guys later." Amy said and waved. She took Luca's paw and made him wave too. As they ran off, they were finally out of sight, leaving Takeshi and Liz alone.

"You wanna do something else? Or are you going to go back too?" Takeshi asked casually. A blank expression on his face.

"Yeah, sure. I'm free all day really." Liz replied happily and the two walked somewhere else.

A girl sighed heavily as she continued to look at the ground, walking straight foward. She still couldn't take in the fact that she had dumped Takeshi, so that he and Liz could have a chance. She continued to wonder if that was the right thing to do. 'Why am I thinking this? I told Takeshi that there would be nothing to change my mind, and that there was nothing more between us but...now I wish, I hadn't. I still, I still love him. I'm afraid to say it but, I want Takeshi back even though...even though maybe he-'

"Ooof! Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see-...Takeshi." she said, startled at who she bumped into.

"F-Fantine...no it's, okay. What are you doing here?" he asked her. Liz stood behind Takeshi, not getting involved.

"I was just taking a walk. What a coincidence, I didn't think I'd run into you. Hello Liz." she said when Liz was finally noticed.

"H-hi Fantine." Liz replied nervously. 'For some reason, I feel like this isn't a...'coincidence'. Damn, it's like she has Takeshi-radar or somethin.' Liz thought.Takeshi didn't look too pleased that he was now stuck in the middle, standing next to his ex, and Liz. 'I wish the word, 'Love Triangle' never existed.' he thought to himself.

"So um...what are you two doing?" Fantine asked.

"Just...walking." Takeshi replied. 'Oh this so does not look good.' Liz thought.

"Oh, yes. Well, I guess I had...better get going." Fantine said quietly. As she started to walk off, Takeshi didn't look back, but he wanted to call her name. He had failed that once before, and it ended his relationship with her. As he whirled around, he couldn't find his voice, and continued to watch her walk off into the distance. Liz could see that he wanted her to come back, and decided to do the talking for him.

"W-wait! Fantine! FANTINE!" Liz called and Fantine turned around slightly.

"Why don't you um...join us? I'm sure we'd all like that." Liz suggested and Fantine walked back to them. Takeshi sighed with relief, and gave Liz a 'thank you' smile. Liz winked back in response when Fantine came over.

"Are you...sure?" she asked, a little unsure if that was what they truly wanted.

"Of course. I mean, if it's not too much trouble for you." Takeshi was able to say. Fantine smiled, and replied, "N..not at all." and the three went to see a movie. They sat quietly through the whole thing. 'I'm sure, if anything, Fantine wants to lean on Takeshi's shoulder, and I bet Takeshi wants her to do that but they won't since I'm here.' Liz thought to herself and frowned. Without a word Liz got up quietly and excused herself by saying she needed to go to the bathroom. When she re-entered the theater, she saw what she thought they wanted to do. Fantine had her head on Takeshi's shoulder, and he slightly, slowly placed his beside her head. Liz felt a little jealousy rise, steam beginning to boil, but decided it was best to just watch the movie from where she was, not able to be seen. When the movie ended, she saw them come out and decided to walk up to them.

"Liz what happened to you man? You missed almost the whole movie." Takeshi asked.

"You won't believe the line I had to wait through." Liz lied with a shrug and placed her hand on her hips.

"Well, I guess, we should go." Fantine said quietly and they exited the movie. When they walked into the light, they all shielded their eyes for a few minutes. When they recovered, it was 4:00.

"Hm, we still have time to kill. Anyone have any suggestions?" Takeshi asked. No one answered, both Liz and Fantine had sad looks and their backs turned to eachother. He made a nervous laugh, and sighed. 'Stupid, STUPID love triangle. I hope I never get into one EVER again.' he thought angrily to himself and decided it was time to do something about this.

A/N: hi again! I will review the unanswered questions...How will Liz and Takeshi resolve it? (Unsolved: ) Will Liz continue to love Takeshi, or will she try and forget her hidden feelings for him? (Answered: She continues to love 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? (Unsolved: ) And what about Fantine? How long will she be in Takeshi's love life? (Unsolved: ) Will he go back to her, or start a new love relationship with Liz? (Unsolved: ) Will Fantine accept if he does, or help him and Liz become a couple? (Unsolved: ) Okay, at least one question has been solved. to answer the rest, it is only a matter of time...chapt. 5 will be coming soon! (idk if u've figured it out yet...but i like to wait until i get at least 2 reviews not that i'm saying only 2 should be put before i do another chapter hint hint not trying to be mean, just saying!) -;