DISCLAIMER: See Previous Chapter.

Author's Notes: So, here's chapter 10. I just have a feeling that many of you will hate what I've done in this chapter. Read at your own risk. P


"Welcome...back...oww! Watch where you're stepping!" Malice cried out, who was lying on the ground.

"I'll stop once you announce the winner!" Serene retorted, with her boot on top of Malice's back.

"No one commands me what to do. I refuse to announce the winner." Malice said. "Ow!"

Serene placed more pressure onto Malice, holding her scythe with her hand. "Lay off the hamburgers will ya!" Malice exclaimed.

"You'll announce the winners right now, or else..." Serene said in a low, angered tone. "I'll cut your hair!"

"No! Not my beautiful hair!" Malice yelled, squirming to get away. Serene lowered her scythe, lifting up some of Malice's blond hair. "Okay okay! Just don't cut my beautiful hair!"

Serene stepped off of Malice, whilst Rose continued taking notes in her little green book. Slowly getting up, Malice brushed herself before reaching into her magnificently decorated black coat and revealed an envelope. She removed the red seal on the envelope and removed the paper contained within it.

"The winner is..." Malice paused for a moment. "I don't believe this...Ein is the Iron Chef of Riviera!"

As soon as Malice finished speaking, confetti and streamers poured down the stage and covered the floor in an array of colours. Looking up, Ein saw an army of colourful balloons slowly descending as he was hoisted up by the other four girls. Everyone was cheering, except Malice who was still dumbfounded at the result.

"There's just one thing missing..." Ein thought to himself as he was being carried around the stage. Suddenly, the song "We Are The Champions" was playing through the speakers. "Ah Rose, you shouldn't have..."

Looking over his shoulder, he saw Rose at the soundboard once again. Rose smiled and gave him a thumbs up before Malice was shouting at her for touching the device again. It seems as though the joyous moment would last forever when the words of Malice shattered it.

"Who are you going to pick, Ein?"

Everything Ein saw was in slow motion as the song immediately stopped, almost like a broken record. The four girls immediately dropped Ein to the floor. Wincing slightly from the fall, Ein picked himself up and saw himself facing the four girls.

"That's a very good question Malice." Serene stated. "Who are you going to pick, Ein?"

"Um...uh...give me a minute!" Ein exclaimed, trying to run, but was immediately cut off by Lina and Cierra. "I guess I have no choice in this..."

Closing his eyes, Ein sighed and calmed down his breathing, trying to think.

"I choose...Serene." Ein said in a low voice.

"Ein..." Serene turned towards Lina. "Hah! In your face squirt!"

Lina could only respond with a tongue raspberry as Serene and Ein walked off the stage. The evening sky was covered with clouds and only a few stars managed to shine their light through. Ein and Serene were on Rosalina Island and so far, the date had no problems. They were sitting on some grass at a nearby lake. Serene was sitting down and Ein was throwing a stone across the water.

"Ein, come with me, I want to show you something." Serene said, getting up.

"Eh? Oh, okay." Ein replied.

She weaved in and out between large bushes and Ein had some trouble keeping up with her. Some of the overhanging branches proved to be annoying obstacles as Ein's face met a few already, especially at the speed which Serene was keeping. After a few painful minutes, Ein finally saw a clearing and he saw Serene starting at him.

"Hurry up you!" Serene called out to him.

"Alright alright." Ein replied, surveying the area. "Serene...is this..."

"Yes...this was my village." She replied. "Here, this was where I lived."

Both of them approached a small house which an old, wooden door. Serene pushed the door open with one hand and the door creaked open. Suddenly, the door broke off of the hinges and crashed loudly onto the floor.

"Oops...better be careful, Ein. This place could fall apart." Serene said as she entered the doorway.

Ein looked around him and he saw that the house was covered with dust. He noticed a picture frame which was placed on top of a table and grabbed it with his hand. A layer of dust covered the picture, and as Ein was about to blow the dust away, Serene called out to him.

"In here!"

Placing the picture frame down, he disappeared down the short hallway and found Serene sitting on a bed.

"I guess this is your room, Serene?" Ein asked, taking a seat next to Serene.

"Yeah...hey look Ein!" She said, pointing at the window. "The clouds are gone."

The full moon was shining brightly, surrounded by a plethora of stars. A few moments passed as they stared at each other, holding hands.

"Ein, there's something I have to tell you..." Serene started.

"What is it?" He replied.

"How can I put this...ever since I first saw you, there was something I've always...wanted from you..." Serene's voice trailed off. She whispered into Ein's ear and then smiled. However, Ein was flabbergasted, unable to string words together.

"You...Serene...but...we can't...wow...you...really wanted to?...I'm...I mean...you..." Suddenly, white clouds covered the scene and Ein found himself back at the stage. "I don't think that would work out. I wonder what would happen if I chose Lina instead..."

Ein and Lina were walking through a forest and a light breeze rustled the leaves of the nearby trees. Walking along the dusty trail, Lina spotted something hiding in the bushes. Before Ein could even say a word, Lina was off and running. Sighing to himself, Ein quickly chased after her, hoping she wouldn't hurt herself.

"Hey Ein! Look what Lina found!" She cried out. "A treasure chest!"

"Lina, I don't think you should open..." Ein's voice trailed off as Lina opened the chest. "Look out!"

Ein grabbed Lina and led her away from the chest. The chest exploded and bits of debris flew into the air and scattered across the forest floor. Ein was breathing heavily, bending over slightly but Lina was perfectly fine. She went back to where the chest once was, a small crater replaced it.

"Ein! Lina found a rock!...A rock...another one...where's all the treasure?" Lina cried out, almost into tears.

"Lina...I know! Tonight, you want to go to the Elendia Carnival with me?" Ein asked.

"Really? Lina will join!" Lina said with glee.

Night approached and Elendia was buzzing with noise. Ein and Lina met at the front and went in together. They looked around and saw many familiar faces. Soala was selling cotton candy at one stall, Cierra was setting up the fireworks for a sky display, Fia was with her grandfather checking the sights and Serene was at a sideshow which was labelled "Dunk-An-Arc". Unable to resist, Lina headed where Serene was and paid her money to Reiche.

"Okay, here's three magma rocks. If you hit the target, you dunk the Arc into the water and you win a prize!" Reiche announced as Ein stared at Serene, who wearing very skimpy clothing.

"My eyes are up here, Ein!" Serene yelled in an angered tone. "Pervert."

Lina hurled the first magma rock at the target but missed. Serene yelled at Lina that she should learn how to throw. Annoyed, Lina hastily threw the second rock and it was no where near the mark.

"C'mon squirt! That's all you got?" Serene taunted.

Lina threw the last rock and narrowly missed the target. Serene stuck her tongue out at Lina and started laughing at her.

"What a shame! You missed the target!" Reiche said.

"Lina doesn't think so." Lina replied. A second later, a bolt of lighting appeared and blasted the target. Serene was caught off guard as she fell into the water. "See?"

"My mistake. It seems you won, Lina. Here's a shiny spiral shell from my personal collection!" Reiche said, handing the item to Lina.

After seeing all of the stalls at the carnival, Ein and Lina decided to take a walk in the forest to get away from the noises. It was very peaceful in the forest, with the clear night sky. Lina spotted a tiny creature in front of them.

"Ein, look! A squirrel with a puffy tail! Lina wants it!"

"But, Lina..."

"Please?"

"Sigh...okay. I'll try to catch it."

Ein carefully crept up to the squirrel and suddenly pounced on it. The squirrel was taken by surprise and didn't have enough time to escape.

"Yay! You're the best Ein!" Lina exclaimed. She noticed something above in the tree branch. "Oh look! Another squirrel! And another!"

Suddenly, many squirrels appeared them, their eyes were starting at Ein. Looking down, Ein watched the squirrel between his hands signaling to the other squirrels. Quickly looking back up, the squirrels scampered down the trees and surrounded Ein in a circle. Frantically looking around, Ein dropped the squirrel he was holding, hoping they would go away. Meanwhile, Lina was staring at the squirrels saying how cute they are with their puffy tails, totally ignoring what was going on. Suddenly, the squirrels attacked Ein, piling on top of him and biting him.

"Aaah! Ow! Lina! Help me!" Ein cried out.

Lina took no notice as the squirrel that Ein had dropped earlier was chasing its own tail, effectively distracting her from Ein's agonising screams of pain. He was on the ground rolling around, trying to shake the squirrels off, but to no avail.

"Aaah! No! Not the face!" Ein yelled. The scene was then enveloped by white clouds before finally disappearing.

"I guess that won't work out either...what about Cierra..."

"Ein, I demand to know where Gateau is!" Cierra exclaimed, pointing her staff right in front of Ein's face. "Cinder Squa..."

"Okay okay! I'll tell you! Just don't hurt me!" Ein cried out, instinctively covering his eyes with his hands.

"I'll make sure you don't, Ein." A mysterious voice said to Ein, breaking his dream sequence.

"Rose! I need some private time here! Can't you turn that psychic thing off or something?"

"Sure thing." Rose replied.

"Hey wait...you could do that? Ugh, never mind." Ein sighed. "I guess Fia would be a reasonable choice..."

"I choose...Fia." He voiced out loud.

"Well, pack your bags then since you're going to Tetyth for your date!" Malice announced.

A few hours later, Fia and Ein arrived at their destination. Upon arrival, Ledah saw them and nodded, acknowledging their presence.

"What are you doing here, Ledah?" Ein asked.

Ledah didn't answer and motioned towards the small boat. Ein and Fia climbed aboard, as well as Ledah. Grabbing an oar, he went to the front of the boat and used the oar to put the boat into motion. Fia was worried at first that the boat might topple over sending them overboard, but Ein reassured her and for a good hour, they admired the scenery. The boat ride finally came to a stop as they reached the shore. Fia got out first but slipped onto the muddy ground, dirtying her clothes.

"Ah, sorry Ein. Could you give me a few minutes to clean myself up?" Fia asked.

"Yeah, sure." Ein said, nodding to Fia before walking a distance out of the view of the lake.

Ten minutes passed and Fia still hadn't finished yet. Ein was tired of waiting and decided to sit on a large rock. He sighed loudly as he tried to entertain himself in any way possible. Looking at the flowers, fidgeting with his gloves, even counting the blades of grass. Getting impatient, Ein stood up, planning to call out to Fia when he slipped on some moss. Ein was sent tumbling down, through a wall of tall grass which separated Fia and Ein.

"Ein! What are you doing?" Fia cried out, covering herself.

"Wait wait! I fell! I haven't seen anything! I swear!" Ein yelled out, covering his eyes.

"Ein is a pervert!" Lina cried out.

"What the?" Ein looked towards the sound of the voice and carefully uncovered one eye. "Lina? What are you doing here?"

"Ein...how could you...trying to take advantage of Fia like that..." Cierra started.

"Wait, no! Stop twisting everything you see!" Ein exclaimed.

"You've gone too far Ein...even for you. You will pay for your sins!" Serene yelled, holding up her scythe.

"Aaah! Not the face!" Ein cried out in pain. Suddenly, Ein opened his eyes and he was back at the stage. "No matter who I choose, it will always end in disaster."

Looking around the room, he spotted Malice. "That would be suicide...Next!" His head turned towards the judge's table, where he smiled from ear to ear. "Perfect."

"Ein...no, don't do it!" Rose exclaimed. "This is the most ridiculous idea so far! Don't you dare do it"

"I choose..." Ein started, ignoring Rose's telepathic pleas.

"No! If you say it, I can guarantee that the other girls will hate you for it!"

"Ledah." Ein said, without saying another word.

"Whaa?" Everyone exclaimed in unified confusion, except Ledah. Upon hearing this, Fia had fainted again. Meanwhile, Ledah was sipping a glass of water. As he drank it, it took a few seconds for the information to sink in. When it did, Ledah immediately expelled the water onto a nearby Malice.

"Ein, what is the meaning of this?" Ledah questioned.

"Yeah, what gives? Is that even legal, Malice?" Serene questioned.

"Hmm, according to the rules I stated when this began, I said that Ein could choose anyone he wishes. I knew I should have been more specific." Malice replied.

"Ein is weird! Why would he date Ledah?" Lina asked.

"It's...not a date. I just want time alone with him so we can catch up on things and talk..." Ein's voice trailed off.

"I never knew you swung that way, Ein. Seeing as how you spied on us and all." Serene retorted.

"My my, this certainly is a strange turn of events." Cierra said.

"Not really. If I had factored in that Ein had a chance of winning, I would have known he would pick Ledah. Always so predictable you are." Malice said. "Anyway, get going you two love birds. You have to get ready for your date!"

"I guess I have no choice. Very well. I'll let you choose the destination, Ein." Ledah said, trying to act that he was comfortable with the situation

"Thank you, Ledah." He replied. "I'll tell you when the time comes."

Rose had finished writing in her little green note book and had closed it. "Good, I've gathered a lot of data today. Soon, it will be complete..."


One more chapter to come, who knows what will happen...Stay tuned for the last chapter!