Shu POV:
The party was quite fun and had tons of food that everyone but Anya ate. She did, however, help herself to some electrical power from some of the static electricity caused by all of the walking around, as she said that she needed a recharge after the incident. Zola then told us that King Jibral had to have a word with us, so we followed her to his throne room after the party had ended.
"This battle is not yet over," Jibral said.
"I know this already. Nene has escaped to the north. That is where he has all of his main headquarters. They include the Mecha Base, the Laser Fields, and the Ancient Factory. We'll need to prepare for the journey ahead and then proceed due north immediately," Anya said.
"Of course. And we have had some debate, and I think that Zola should go with you when you proceed north," Jibral said.
"Happy to have you along Zola," I smiled at her.
"I know that I'll feel safe with all of you backing me up," Zola smiled.
"Okay. We should prepare for the trip ahead. We'll also need a good night's sleep, as we didn't get much last night," Jiro said.
"Okay, let's go get it done," Kluke smiled.
"Yeah! We get to go battling with Lady Zola!" Marumaro smiled wildly. We then proceeded to the shops and bought a lot of items we could use, including magical medicine, regular medicine, cure all, and some Phoenix talons for good measure. We then decided to have some sleep and we all slept at the inn... but at night, I suddenly gasped awake from the sound of something falling nearby. I then noticed that Zola wasn't in her bed and that Jiro had been woken up by it as well.
"Jiro, did you hear that too?" I asked him with a hushed voice.
"Let's see where Zola headed off to," Jiro said to me as we went out to search for Zola. We decided that Castle Jibral would be where she would most likely be at, and we eventually found both her and King Jibral in the 2nd floor garden conversing. We kept out of sight while listening in.
"I want to give you something to assist you in the battles ahead, Zola... this ring is a family heirloom. It contains a gemstone that will greatly enhance your power. I would like to ask you to put it on... as a memento to know that you have my full support," Jibral said with kindness in his voice, me and Jiro oohing at it. Zola then smiled and put the ring on her ring finger, Jibral looking a bit spooked at that.
"Z-Zola.. Wait," Jibral said.
"What is it, your majesty?" she asked.
"Um... it's just... putting the ring on that finger is a symbol of marriage," Jibral said.
"But your highness, it's the only finger it will fit on," Zola said. But I could see her smile even from here. She may have acted like she didn't care about these kinds of things, but it was obvious that she felt romantic feelings for Jibral.
"Hey, Jiro... you thinking what I am?" I asked my best friend.
"What are you thinking?" Jiro asked as we walked away quietly and made sure not to alert Zola that we were watching her.
"I was thinking... maybe we could go to that fancy jewelry store and we can make some rings to give our girlfriends," I smiled at him.
"Um... girlfriend?" Jiro asked. It was then that I revealed the hard truth to him.
"Come on, Jiro. We all know that you and Anya are perfect for each other. And she's the very first person to have ever made you blush that wasn't your parents! I think I can make one for Kluke and you can make one for Anya," I smiled at him, Jiro looking to be a bit anxious but finally sighed.
"Okay... fine... I do like her. I guess I could do that with you. Let's go make some jewelry," Jiro smiled, finally giving in to the truth. We then went to the fine jewelry store and saw the guy was in charge and looked at us with a smile.
"Ah, it's the young adults that helped defend Jibral from the Flying Fortress. What can I help you with?" the storekeeper asked.
"We were hoping to make some rings for our girlfriends," I smiled.
"Ah, young love, I see. Of course, we can do this. Would you like me to show you how to do so?" the man smiled.
"Sure, how do we do this?" Jiro asked.
"Well, I will offer each of you one gem of each type we have here. Each one has a different magical property to it and a price that matches it. You will each start out with 100 gold to start making gems. And when you refine a gem, you may get special dust that I will give you money for. The jewel making process ends when you run out of available funds or when you each are out of gems to use. Choose wisely," the man smiled.
"Okay, let's do this," Jiro smiled.
Anya POV:
I didn't expect that I would be rudely awoken from my sleep mode at 5 in the morning, but Jiro kept shaking me until I woke up, me looking at him with a groan before I finally got up and looked at him. "What's up with you, Jiro?... I was sleeping," I groaned as I stretched my bones and metal arms.
"I wanted to give you something... because... well... I really like you," Jiro said, me looking at him like he was crazy... but then I gasped when he presented a special ring that I gasped at the magical nature of it.
"My god... did you make this especially for me?" I asked him with a smile and tears in my eyes.
"Yes. Shu and I got the idea when we saw King Jibral give Zola a ring with magic in it. He made a ring for Kluke and this one is for you... it even has a special inscription on it," Jiro smiled, me looking at it closely and smiling at the message.
"You are special, Anya. But I want our love to be even more special... Love... Jiro..." I smiled as I then started to blubber uncontrollably before wrapping my arms over Jiro in pure joy. "Jiro... I accept... though I will outlive you... I will never forget this moment..." I smiled at him.
"I don't care about that, Anya. I just want you to be happy," Jiro smiled at me. That only made me sniffle and cry happily some more, everyone in the room waking up and smiling at me while Marumaro looked confused.
"What's wrong with Miss Anya?" Maro asked.
"I... I'm just... so happy..." I admitted truthfully as I placed the finger on my ring finger and then closed up the gun that was on it. "I will never take this ring off nor will I ever fire another bullet from this finger... it is my love finger from now on..." I smiled happily as Jiro hugged me back and I felt his lips smooch my cheek. "Pure happiness... I haven't felt this kind of joy... for so long... I thank you... Jiro... I love you," I smiled at him happily as I felt my emotions rise and I felt Mystic come out of my shadow to join in the hug.
"I'm so happy for you, Anya..." Mystic smiled, no one surprised that she was able to speak.