A/N: I do not own To Love-Ru, nor any of its characters.
To Love-Ru: The Fight for Love
Chapter 3.0
The Delegation
Now
Yuuki Household,
Rito's Room
Rito stares down at the now cold, dead messaging device, since it had delivered its pre-recorded message to its intended recipient. He felt like laughing right now, at the absurdity of it all, if he hadn't heard the words of Deviluke's King he would not believe it, or think of it as merely a cruel joke. Except he was just told his options, and now he was given the ability to make only one choice. It was two-edged sword, both a blessing and a curse, that Gid had granted him both foreknowledge and a choice, before the decision was no longer up to him. Rito sat on his bedside, absolutely floored by the decision thrust upon him, and he began to breathe a bit to shallowly and too fast accompanied by a ringing.
Feeling the pounding in his ears, the traitorous heartbeat of his beating faster than his breathing, despite the ice trying to crawl its way down his throat and freeze his heart in place. The edges of his vision begin to blur, everything seems to close in on him, growing disproportionate yet terrifying as all he can focus on is that damned message in a bottle. Gripping his chest and trying to catch his breath, he struggles to turn his head towards sounds coming from what he can only assume is the doorway, as a blur of pink skates at the edges of his vision.
He feels something soft, warm yet slightly damp as strings of wet hair clump and stick to his own bare chest. Feeling her cling onto him, her warmth and scent something to focus on, he clears his thoughts and falls into her embrace, slumping into her as warm tears suddenly wash down his face. Putting a hand to his cheeks, he realizes they were his own, yet he felt too calm to have been the one who was crying. "...t's okay Rito, everything is fine," Lala's voice finally reaches him, breaking him out of his stupor as he tries to focus on her, "Whatever happened, its okay now, you're fine, so let's get you ready and join everyone else downstairs for breakfast." Nodding mutely, he stumbles in his bed for the half slept in shirt he had abandoned sometime before actually falling asleep. Rito feels a shirt being pushed into his hands, and with a half-hearted smile he thanks Lala and begins to get ready.
Unknowingly to him, Mikan stood outside the door, with Lala shortly joining her after picking up the fallen Devilukean device. "What happened?" Mikan asks, worry and concern on her face as she stands by the head of the stairs, "All of a sudden he just started laughing... did you find out?" Lala shook her head, but she held up the skull-shaped recording and playback device.
"I don't know, but whatever my father relayed to him must have sent him into a panic attack; I didn't get a chance to screen it before Momo gave it to him," Lala responded, looking back to the closed door to his bedroom, "Mikan... I don't even think he was aware he was having an attack, he seemed so..." At that the loyal hair-clip slash robot spoke up from her place in the alien girl's hair.
"He appeared to be displaying a classic detachment of emotions, one of the signs associated with what humans classify as a panic attack," Peke puts out, "I'm sure Rito-dono was so focused inward on himself, he didn't even realize how his body was reacting; he brushed away a tear from his face and had looked at it with confusion while Lala-sama was trying to break him out of it." The little robot grew silent at that, but both Mikan and Lala exchanged a worried glance.
"I'm sure he will be fine now," Lala assured the younger Yuuki sibling, "When I get a chance I'll listen to the message and see what could have set him off like this, but it is better that he not be aware you saw him like this." She hands the younger sibling the bottle and points to her own room. "If you can stash that in your room for now, I'll get Rito downstairs for breakfast with the others," Lala states, "We don't want anyone else to worry if something has come up." Mikan nodded, going to tuck the item away into Lala's bedroom so that she could look it over later. Lala turns back to Rito's room and knocks on the door. "Rito?" she hesitantly asks out loud, "Are you ready for breakfast?" The door opens while she was leaning her head against it to hear anything, to both his and her own surprise, she lands in his open arms followed by a flush of red.
"I'm- I'm better," he says a little shakily, "I think everything is just hitting me now, after the past couple of months of everything being so chaotic." The Devilukean girl smiles at that, gently lay a kiss on his cheek while simultaneously entwining her fingers with his.
"But now you don't have to shoulder it alone, with you and I a team now," she states, as the edges of Rito's lips slip into the smallest ghost of a smile, "Maybe we aren't in perfect synch yet, but when we are able to tear down those alls keeping us apart, I know together we can be stronger as one..." She puts a hand to his heart, while guiding his to her own, smiling as she still is leaning in close enough to capture his lips again. Her scent was intoxicating to him, and almost erased the worries he had been feeling, but the rumbling in his stomach, followed by her own, caused them both to break away laughing. "At least we can both agree our bodies are in synch regarding one thing," she laughs, "I seem to be finding myself needing to eat more and more lately, ever since we returned, otherwise I just seem so sluggish." Rito laughs in exchange, but nods and begins to follow her down the stairs.
"Funnily enough for me it feels quite the opposite, I mean I still feel hungry, but I also feel like I could run out of my skin," Rito counters, "It's like I haven't ate at all, but I have the energy of a full meal in me without any of the satisfaction or fullness behind it." Lala cocks her head to the side in that in wonder, but ignores her thoughts as they reach the chaotic kitchen table, where haphazard seating and makeshift placements were made up to accompany everyone in the kitchen. Rito notices that his father was absent, more than likely having returned to his work after begging Mikan to bring lunch by later in exchange for missing out on breakfast, though he was grateful that his mother had calmed down and was enjoying a cup of what looked to be bitter coffee. How his mother had gotten hooked to the stuff while overseas was another story, but it ensured they always had a bag of the ground beans stuffed far back in some cupboard for the rare visits they had from her.
"Ah, finally awake after all that cuddling last night?" his mother teases, though he isn't as surprised by it as he was a few minutes ago, "Ah, so you aren't denying it, I see, fuhuhu..." The scandalized look his mother was giving caused him to sigh, as did Mikan, who had found her way back into the kitchen and was delivering a plate of food to both Lala and Rito.
"You better not have been doing any thing perverted to aneue, Rito!" Nana blushes as she stutters out another word, "Like k-k-kissing!" Lala just sticks out her tongue at her younger sister, while Momo shoulders up next to Nana with a wriggle of her eyebrows.
"My, they do have to have something to save for after the wedding," she states a little too suggestively, "I mean, they say the first time is always special, but since I'm sure our dear sister isn't as 'pure' and naive as we were led to believe, I'm sure she's already done 'it' with Rito by now..." Rito choked on his food, while Mikan and Nana coughed on their miso, while Lala blushed furiously at Momo's suggestiveness. "What?" Momo states innocently. "Haven't you already kissed before?" They let that slide, but Mikan notices the smirk doesn't leave the youngest Devilukean sister's face, knowing full well the double standard her words carried.
Rito returns his attention back to the table as his stomach reminds him that he was busy. With a halfhearted smile he turns his attention back to eating his food, just as Lala takes out her special dark matter seasoning and drowns some of her food in the heavy substance; oddly enough Rito partakes of a little bit of the exotic material and uses it to season some rice before finishing it off. They return to a joking and light hearted manner, the incident of not too long ago forgotten.
OoOoOoOoOoO
"Ok, we're off!" Rito calls back into the house, as he shuffles outside behind Ringo, Celine, Peke, and Nana. The Yuuki matron had unfortunately needed to leave for a trip to Milan, where she would be helping recruiting models for a fashion agency there, and Celine had really wished to see off the grandmotherly Ringo, with Nana volunteering to watch her with Peke's help. Momo had said goodbye but had planned to help Mikan make lunch as well as plan dinner upon their return, offering to go and gather up groceries that had been depleted the night before when everyone had come over to congratulate the engagement of Rito and Lala. That left Lala, who had changed into actual clothes with Peke's departure, with the younger Yuuki sibling helping her wash up from breakfast.
"I have everything down here now," Mikan states while loading the last of the dishes into the machine, looking over to Lala who was draining the soapy water, "Go up and see what freaked Rito out; when Momo gets back she and I can handle lunch just fine by ourselves." Lala nodded, hanging up the apron that Mikan had let her borrow to keep any stray splashes or suds from dirtying her clothes, and hung it over a spare chair to let it dry out. The Devil Star princess left the kitchen in a hurried pace, ascending the stairs quickly while practically leaping over the banister. Teleporting into the pocket of compressed space that her younger sisters had used their technology to create their residency within the attic of the Yuuki house, Lala found the bottle sitting nearby.
Mikan obviously hadn't had much time to hide the message device, but her sisters had seemingly left it alone upon realizing it was the same one delivered to Rito. Thankful for her sisters not invading her or Rito's privacy, though she would be a bit guilty of that in this instance, whatever it was that her Father ad said was critical for her to hear with as adverse reaction he seemed to have had to it. Twisting the hollow looking skull and touching the crystal activator, the message began to playback once more for her crackling to life.
"I thought I raised you better than this, dear daughter," the gruff voice of her father states, much to her surprise, "I'm afraid this message was specially encoded to my dear son-in-law's fingerprints, and made specifically to be tamper-proof or prescreened by you or my other errant daughters; not that Nana would care, but you and Momo are much too like your mother to leave these matters between us men." He chuckles, something more surprising for her to hear as he was admonishing her over a pre recorded message, but it becomes clearer. "Knowing this I recorded a separate message specifically for you, Lala, as I know you'd just bug Zastin or someone else later on," King Gid continues, "That, and your mother gave me quite an earful about 'trusting' you with matters than concern the both of you..." She hears him sigh, and she can imagine the annoyed look crossing his face as he rubs his brow, a sign he was somewhat at a loss for words on how to continue.
"Look, here's the deal, I gave Rito an ultimatum because the Galactic Police are treading on my tail, trying to get me to consider some B-rank mercenary group as an actual threat to the stability of the Deviluke Empire, something Sol Game, or whatever.." Lala's eyes widen, remembering an event last year that resulted in her friends being kidnapped and threatened in exchange for Mikado Sensei's cooperation with Solgam, a credible threat at the time, "They want me to either cut off contact with planets we suspect active cell's are on, or otherwise eradicate them myself, or they'll begin altering planet's ranking and classifications." The eldest princess of Deviluke is shocked by that, as altering planet's ranks were not a trivial matter, and could impact their standing among the both the Empire, and the universe at large. "The GPD plan on making them no-fly zones, or enforcing isolation on those who don't cooperate, forcing them to take action in rooting out the problem," Gid continues, "So I gave your 'darling' Rito the same choice I've been given: he must either root out the problem and expose the terrorist cell on Earth within nine months, or failing that, return to Deviluke with you and those you bring with you when the GPD enforces the removal of all extraterrestrial life from, and isolation of Earth."
Lala feels ice in her stomach as it does a flip in surprise. No wonder Rito had a panic attack,being given such blunt instruction from her father like that. "Hey, don't give me that look, I'm going to tell her!" Lala blinks, as she realizes that her father is not referring to her, since he couldn't have seen her reaction, "Sorry, your mother is giving me a look that says I won't be sharing her bed for a couple of days at least... ehem, I mean, I was about to tell you more!" Lala lets her head fall to the side, comical sigh leaving her mouth as she imagines her mother pouting at him. "The method you can remove Sol Game can vary: you could outright attack them and conquer the Earth, or you can reveal our presence to more than just the local area, reveal Rito as the next king, or even go about it any other way you can think up," Gid states, as Lala hears something like whispering barely come over the message, "Oh yes, and don;t forget dear, you also have that ring of yours on your finger to use; I'm sure you can utilize whatever resources make up that wedding gift of yours to carry this out, even a planet like Earth can be bought, you know!" Lala blinks at that, bringing her hand up to her eyes, and staring at the twin stones that symbolize her union with Rito. She had forgotten that she had the whole riches of one of the most wealthiest empires at their disposal now. "Good luck kiddo," Gid says with a final note, "I hope that whatever it is that you do, make Deviluke proud (and conquer that mudball- *ooff*)!"
With that the recording cuts out, and the message ends. No doubt her mother had elbowed father for that comment under his breath, especially since she was probably rooting for her to make peace with Earth, being a diplomat and everything. Lala herself didn't know which path would be the best to take, surely she could go wither the path of peace or war, since she had been trained in both since she was born, though she did miss one or two lessons from Zastin, she was a princess born in a time of both. She, though, did not have to make this choice alone, nor would he, for they together could burden what they could not alone. If they put their heads together, with her knowledge running an empire and Rito's knowledge of Earth, together they could prevent Earth being cast aside and keep Solgam from proving themselves to be the threat they thought they were.
OoOoOoOoO
Earlier
"We're off!" Rito calls out as he closes the door behind him, Lala waving him off from the kitchen, apron draped over her chest and waist. He smiles as he locks the door, happy that despite the craziness of the past week, she could be so calm and collected despite everything. Not even an hour ago he had been given a bit of a shock, he didn't handle it well of course, but being forced to make a choice for all of humanity when he had neither the power or influence to back it up, seemed impossible. He would be laughed out of town if people around Sainan ever caught wind of it, all respect for him as a person would more than likely become non-existent as well. Sighing as he walked out to the waiting car in front of his house, he puts the final suitcase into the trunk and closes it.
His mother had already called a cab to take her to the airport, but not wanting to send her off alone, he himself, Nana, and Celine had volunteered to go with her, with Peke tagging along in disguise as a barrette to keep an eye on Celine so she didn't wander off.. Rito slides in next to Celine, ruffling her hair, while avoiding Peke, as she giggles in response. Seeing off his mother was tedious so early in the morning, but thankfully it was a weekend and school wasn't an issue, so it was nice to actually accompany her to the airport to help make sure nothing was lost in transition. His mother was a famous designer and manager to various models under her employ, so she occasionally brought work home with her that made it vital to ensure everything made it onto the return trip. Sighing as the taxi left his neighborhood and traveled into the city proper, he watched people go about their daily lives on the weekend as the car passed them by.
Shopping, enjoying life, eating food and being generally unaware, the people he watched were happy and content with their lives. Had they known an unknown danger was looming on the horizon, one that would change the dynamic of society into a much wider frame with little more than a show of power from one singular UFO. Sainan had changed in the past two years, sure the Devilukean 'invasion' had been removed from everyone's mind when Lala attempted to erase her presence, lately the strangeness surrounding his cozy little town, or rather brought to light by Lala and himself, had begun to attract visitors and conspiracy theorists from around the world. Many people seeking fame claimed to be 'aliens', some for fame, while others were jokes or pranks, though some took advantage of this period to come out, like Run and Kyouko had by revealing themselves to be 'alien idols', though it was hard to tell now what was considered accepted and what was being lost to urban myth. Rito really wondered how the world would react to knowing what was truth and what was fiction, that aliens did walk among them, and some did wish them harm, rather than choosing to partake in the peaceful atmosphere the Earth had brought out as a sort of vacation planet.
He thought of the other world he had visited in his quote unquote 'death' that Lala had brought him out of. Had he really died and changed history his own history? The Earth he had returned to had seemed different, more open to the strange and exotic, but had that merely been a reflection of his need for acceptance of the strange and exotic life he now lived, or had he truly believed that an Earth where aliens co-mingled with humanity was possible? Had they truly changed their world's history, or was it that his six-month period of moping about in a heart-broken daze had obscured to him how accepting the Earth had become these past few years. One would think decades of terrible movies using cheesy gimmicks and terrible special effects, of world conquering aliens or visitors bringing unintended change and war to Earth, would cause xenophobia and fear of the unknown; yet the Earth seemed ever more resilient, ever hungry to make contact with extra terrestrial life, despite it having lived underneath its noses for decades by now.
His musings were broken as the taxi slowed to its halt, and the daydreams he imagined were replaced with the hustle and bustle of people going about the airport, coming and going in waves. Getting out of the car, and with Nana's assistance, they successfully accounted for every bag and bauble, and made their way to the luggage check. Unable to go any further once everything was set to be shipped with his mother, they proceeded to have a tearful farewell on his Mother's behalf, before they had to depart with her going to check into her flight and begin her pre-screening process. Unfortunately, a little too late, Rito had realized that they didn't have enough money to get home after paying the cab fair one way, but they did have enough to make it a safe distance into Sainan proper, leaving a bit of a walk the rest of the way.
OoOoOoOoO
Sighing as the taxi made its way from the park, the furthest it seemed they could go with his pitiful pocket change, it dropped them off and left them behind to find their next occupant. Nana had convinced him to stop for a few minutes and relax, offering to watch over Celine for a bit while exploring the playground equipment. Agreeing to let her watch over Celine with Peke's help, Rito walked over to a nearby bench to sit down and relax before they made the long walk home. It was only half past ten o'clock by now, and lunch was expected for another couple of hours, so they had time to kill as they weren't very far subjectively from the house. He was fatigued, whether it was from the weighty message he had received, or the fact he just saw his mother off for what could be the last time if their paths never crossed again before the six months were past.
The choice would have to be made before then, though he didn't know what he would make, nor how he could make it alone. Putting a thumb to his mouth, he began to nervously chew on his nail while his mind began to wander deeper into thought. He just didn't know how he was going to tell his sister this, when the inevitable came up, nor how he was going to explain this to his friends, let alone coming out and burdening Lala with this. Rito knew she was strong enough to deal with this, she had promised herself to him and he likewise to her, but her personality was so cheerful and erratic, that he didn't know how she would respond to this additional pressure put upon them now. She was carefree, rebellious, she often shirked her teachings and duties as a princess to escape to Earth, influenced her sisters into doing the same, and came to love both Rito and the Earth like it was her own home despite being a princess of a galactic empire.
What was he thinking?
His troubled face relaxes a bit, as he realizes he's just over thinking everything. Lala loved the Earth just as much as she loved him, of course she would do everything in her power to help him protect it. While she was a goof off, she had shown incredible ingenuity, craftiness, and tactful planning that made even Zastin proud, something that betrayed that same carefree facade and revealed how intelligent she really was despite her seeming naivety. Opening his eyes he looks up through the shady branches of the tree the bench was located under, as streams of sunlight penetrated the greenery to spread its warmth spottily on his skin. Groaning as he stretches in the warmth and shade, he takes stock of where Nana and Celine are playing on the swings, the young child being pushed by the Devilukean girl, going higher and higher. He needed to do something, go somewhere, where he could get these thoughts and feelings vocalized without Celine, Nana, or Peke present. A thought occurred to him, a place he could go that wasn't well traveled, and was somewhere on the way home that Nana and Celine could meet him up with later.
Stepping past kids and their family members that were taking advantage of the beautiful day to enjoy lunches, he traversed the minefield of forgotten toys and snot-munching children to reach the swings, where Nana played with Celine. "Faster, higher!" he could hear in between giggles, as he watched Nana push Celine with one hand, as other children watched in awe at such little effort being put into making a child soar. Rito could tell she was basking in the praise of the children, who were clamoring around her to get her attention.
One of the other children on the swings bravely approached her, tugging on the fringes of her skirt to get her attention. "Aneue, can you swing me as high as Celine-chi?" the child, a little girl who Celine had befriended in her trips to the park with Mikan, asked the youngest Devilukean princess. Nana smiled, unable to say no after everyone cheered her on, so she slowed Celine down to a safe speed before helping the other little girl into a swing to start pushing her. Rito watched as the children laughed and cheered in awe, while Nana played it off like it was no big deal, yawning even and closing her eyes as she kept the girl swinging high in an arc. Eventually she caught sight of Rito, blushing furiously as she catches him smiling at her, and nearly misses getting sacked by the child as she swings back, having not stopped her from going back. Thankfully Rito steps in, grabbing at the chains to keep her from flailing around and hit any of the other kids gathered around.
"Tt, tt, tt, tch...Ow," she states, rubbing the back of her head and neck, having been surprised and stumbled to the ground. She looks up as Rito offers a hand, helping her to stand up, before she brushes dirt and sand from her skirt. "Da-ng it Rito, what the heck are you doing, just watching like a creeper like that," She asks, crossing her arms and huffing at him, "At least give me a warning if you're going to stare..." Rito laughs a little, before walking away from the swings a bit and dragging her partly away from the gaggle of kids.
"I was just going to tell you guys that I'm planning to take a walk out to the bridge crossing, we still have time, so don't hurry along or anything," Rito states, as Nana cocks an eyebrow out of interest, "I just need to clear my head, I need some space, so let's meet up in an hour or so..." He looks back at the gaggle of kids surrounding Celine, as she babbles excitedly among the group children of various younger ages. "I think you're doing great with those children by the way," he tries to encourage her, smiling and giving her a thumbs up while rubbing the back of his neck, "You've got your own fan-club, 'Big Sis' Nana." She immediately begins to turn red, from her flush cheeks, to the tips of her ears. Looking totally pissed off, like she wants to punch him for doing something stupid, she instead takes a deep breath, before waving him off and turning back towards the group of children.
"Yeah, well, whatever..." she states as she stalks back towards Celine's position, "Do whatever macho, manly thing you need to, but be ready to escort me and Celine home... we don't want Aneue to worry, or anything..." She pouts as she walks back, blushing, but thankfully out of Rito's view. Rito merely sighs, thankful she understood without resorting to violence and setting a bad example for those kids watching her, and took off down towards the river and the bridge crossing.
Thankfully the bridge would be empty around this time of year, not many people choosing to stick around the poorly shaded area, in favor of the much cooler shops and frozen treat stands open around the city. It had a year round supply of illegally dumped trash, graffiti, and perfect location that made it out of the way and least likely traversed area on the river front among numerous others. This meant he would be free to let off steam, as long as he was careful and not flashy in his use of power, his built up stress and dangerously high levels of dark matter in his body could be put to a productive use while helping to clean up around the area. He had gotten skilled enough to take off the graffiti without disturbing the bridge, and using his dark matter blasts he could safely atomize the non-recyclable, non biodegradable matter, like the cigarette butts people tossed over the side of the bridge as they drove, or foolish kids that came down to the river to hide their misuse of tobacco. Honestly it irked him a bit whenever he caught a kid doing just that, but they usually scrammed before he could give them a piece of his mind.
He stopped as he drew closer to the bridge, surprised when he notices a shadow moving amongst the one cast beneath the structure. Rito grumbles underneath his breath as he realizes that the boy he is seeing could not be more older than himself. 'Whatever he is doing, it has to be illegal,' Rito thinks to himself, knowing no one willingly spends time under the bridge, 'I can't blow off steam if they stay here, so I'll have to scare him off first...' Rito walks closer to the kid,in hopes appearing here may scare him off, when he begins to notice that what he thought was a kid messing around, may be something very different. He notices the place looks cleaner than normal, garbage mostly gone, except for a discarded Sofa that appears to have been moved into such a position that it faced the river while being mostly undercover. Rito also sees that there appear to be clean-ish looking blankets strewn about over the sofa, an oil drum barrel situated somewhat nearby and full of sticks pointing out from the top, a weathered looking backpack that looks durable while spilling out with junk food, and an impromptu clothesline hanging from one end of the couch to one of the support pillars. On it appears to be a weathered army jacket of the green variety, ripped, black jeans, and a white t-shirt that all appear to be drying in the sun.
The all-but-nude kid in boxers finally takes notice of him, though it wasn't until he sniffed the air and leveled his gaze at him, that Rito realized the situation was more awkward than it could be. The kid draped one of the blankets on his sofa around him, before getting up and taking a defensive stance towards Rito. "Hey, what are you doing here, this is my camp site!" the youth calls out, and Rito realizes that he was quite odd, despite the circumstances of their first meeting, "I told those bums that this place is my new territory, I won't let you put me behind bars again, and I as heck won't share my space with you!" He was black and white haired, mostly white at the top it seemed, with black hair that gave him an almost salt and pepper look as it blended, and beyond his lean look, he obviously had muscle mass testifying he had sufficient food intake, despite living on the streets. The wind suddenly shifted, blowing at Rito's back, until it caused a physical change in the teenage boy's stance. "I recognize this scent..." he mutters too himself, and he looks Rito straight in the eyes, "I apologize, I have issue seeing color and facial recognition problems; I thought you were one of those troublemakers trying to mess with me and my territory again..." He almost appears to be sheepish, but Rito nods, knowing some of the guys around town could be quite mean and even dangerous to meet out on the streets.
"I won't bite you, I promise," the guy says, inviting Rito closer with a wave of his hand, before going to check the clothes on the line, "Some kids came by earlier today, they tried harassing me, and I ended up falling into the riverbank going after some stuff they stole from me; so I apologize for my appearance, little brother..." The way the boy speaks so formerly to him, calling him 'otouto' surprises him greatly, as he has never even met this man before in his life. Yet this youth called him 'little brother,' which was confusing as he was either about the same age or younger than Rito himself. The teen began to check on the dryness of his clothes, before removing the shirt hanging on the line and squeezing a few more streams of water from it, confirming his story to Rito in regards to having been in the river. "I'm sure you don't recognize me, little brother, but I recognize your scent even if you inhabit that different body," he states, turning to stare into Rito's eyes with his own amber pools, "You smell exactly like you did prancing around my former mistress: uncertain, nervous, hesitant, and utmost of all, distressed... May I inquire what troubles you so?" The man tilts his head to the side, and for once Rito can see just how different this child is when he notices what he thought was wild cowlicks in his hair caused by it drying naturally, was actually hair that must have been gelled up to look like a pair of dog or cat ears.
Hesitant to say anything, Rito realizes that the unfamiliar teen seemed harmless, if a little strange even for Sainan. Sighing, Rito walks over to the couch, the other teen beckoning him to sit and talk while he returns to his blanket. "I don't know why you think you know me, but you try and not be surprised at seeing some random kid hanging out under a bridge; wouldn't you find that strange?" he rhetorically asks, but the boy merely smiles at the prodding remark, "Hmmph, well, of you must know, I've come into some troubling news regarding my future prospects in life..." The teen nods as he listens to Rito continue. "My- girlfriend and I, are planning to get married by the end of the school year; things surrounding our situation are a bit complicated though, and she may be forced to go home shortly afterwards," Rito states, sighing and hanging his head in his hands, "Even if we do get married, I may- no, I will be forced to give up either my home and friends, or take a stand, doing something drastic I might later regret, to keep my family and my friends close, to let me stay here..." He drifts off, but the sudden feeling of a heavy weight on his lap surprises him into moving his head and hands. While faced away from him, the strange, homeless teen has laid across his lap, both 'ears' somehow lying flat against his head now, the blanket wrapped around him deceptively warm and fluffy, despite appearances.
"You've got it rough, kid, and I wish I could understand all of what you are going through," the kid starts to say out of the blue, one of his ears flicking forward and up from his head, much to Rito's surprise, "I mean, you've got aliens, ghosts, crazy alien possessed swords, living weapons, and a beautiful girl at your side, and you can't think of anything to deal with this?" Rito blinks a bit out of shock, but frowns as he scrupulously observes this man's character once more. The kid obviously didn't go to Sainan High, nor did he seem to have any school clothes at all on him, so his immediate thought was that he was homeless, but he seemed to know a lot more than what he should have possibly known. "Did you know I'm living with Ryouko Mikado-Sensei, and Shinzu Onee-San?" the mysterious kid blurts out of the blue, while odd, it suddenly made a lot more sense to Rito why he knew so much, "I've heard a lot about your exploits from them, little brother, but I know personally that despite each of the challenges you've faced, you've gotten through them, or beaten them back time and again, even if it could have cost you your life..." The kid sits up from his lap, before turning to sit back and look out across the river and underside of the bridge.
"You know, I was once saved from drowning in this river, after I was a 'Bad Boy' that ran away from my mistress," he states, again going off tangent, "My life seemed so much simpler then, I didn't have a care in the world and had a home, food, and a caring girl who I made it my goal in life to protect and keep her smiling..." He turned his head towards Rito and leaned back further into the couch until he was practically looking up. "Now I get by day to day, I work for my food by helping out protect Shizu-san from stray dogs when she's on errands, and Mikado-sensei has taught me how to live my human life to the fullest, despite all the trouble I've caused her since I showed up..." He laughs, and stands up, dropping the blanket once more before going to check on his shirt, pulling it free and putting the stiff piece of clothing back on. "Rito... I know this will sound crazy, but I know you've heard of crazier things, but..." he turns back to Rito with a smile, putting his hands behind his back, before bowing his head low to Rito, "My name is Marasume Maron, formerly Sairenji Maron, and through unknown means, I am a pet dog having turned into a demi-human." Rito's jaw dropped a bit at that, but his memories flashed back to an event over half a year ago, when one of Lala's devices caused beings to become other beings spontaneously.
"Y-you are M-Maron?" Rito's voice cracks a bit out of disbelief, as the image of the carefree Boston Terrier is overlaid onto the serious face of the youth before him. He couldn't reconcile the two, the disbelief causing him to freeze up, as Maron stood up, drooping one ear and cocking his head as he stared at Rito while looking physically uncomfortable. For some reason, it hurt him more than it should have, having opened himself up to someone who he thought would be understanding of his troubles. Ever since becoming a demi-human, Maron had played at being the 'lone wolf' when he wasn't on a job for Mikado, shying away from people upon learning Haruna had left town before he had the courage to say goodbye. Realizing the blonde haired teen wasn't going to respond any time soon, he decided to grab his pants and socks which were now dry, and proceed to finish getting dressed incase some miscreant or police officer came down to see him in disarray and cart him off yet again to the police station. Shrugging on pants, then wrestling with damp socks, he grabs his shoes that Doctor Mikado gave him and put them on, despite the dampness he still felt within the shoes.
Looking over to the blonde, yellow eyed teen before him, Maron fought against the urge to blank out his face, forcing himself to focus on Rito. "Rito?" Maron forces himself to speak, "I know this is kind of sudden but I've been alone and you've had all this crap forced onto you, and man, I got to say I really don't understand half of what's been going on, but I know you really seem to need to get stuff off your chest, so I thought I'd offer you..." he stops, realizing he is rambling, and choosing to sigh over the fact he was acting like he was going to the vet for shots, or something, "Look I don't know much, although I'm loyal, I'm honest, and I'm sure you only want to make everyone happy, but I think you need some perspective outside of this town, the world is bigger than just Sainan after all..." Those words seemed to cause something to stir in the blonde, and Rito seemed to slowly come back to reality, staring through himself at first, but then focusing on the demi-human before him.
"Right... right; more than just Sainan..." he mumbles, before a bright spark seems to light up in his eyes, and slowly blinking he becomes more energetic in Maron's eyes, "Your right, I'm only worried about my friends... about my family, when this is more than just all of that..." He trails off, Maron not knowing really where he's going with this, but having heard that Lala was a princess, and Rito was going to marry her, he knew from his former mistresses' stories that Kings never had it easy as they came into their position. At least, that's what he got from the stories Haruna had daydreamed over when the commoner wooed the royal heir and had to overcome their own trials; Rito's situation was no different. "Thanks Maron, you've given me something to think about," Rito responds, causing Maron to brighten up a little, "I want to get to know you better, get your opinions on things too- but right now I think we'll need to postpone that!" The sudden shift in the wind brought new scents for Maron's enhanced sense of smell to identify, and he realized that a young woman and a child were approaching them from the side. Thankfully Maron had his clothes back on, but it didn't stop him from flushing with heat once he realized who it was that he was finally able to meet.
"Rito, there you are!" the silver haired, blue-eyed girl states, creamy white skin glowing in the warm sun, her brown tail swinging and curling in the air behind her, telegraphing her nervousness upon realizing they weren't alone, "Celine was getting hungry, she was stating to get cranking once she realized you weren't nearby, not like I was worried about you though; I now you can carry yourself, or something..." Maron bit back a snicker, though he spied another person hidden behind the girl's legs. Dirty blonde hair, a pure white flower resting on her head like a giant hat, and vivid, piercing orange eyes that were pools of both trepidation and curiosity staring at the new figure ahead of her. He had met her once before, though she smelt different then, he couldn't say he hadn't changed just as much as she had.
"You must be Celine-chan, Ryouko-sama has been telling me about how she watches you during school hours, since the infirmary isn't that busy most of the time," he gives her what he hopes is a reassuring smile, and the girl peeks out more from behind the other girls legs staring intently at his head, so he kneels down to her level with his head bowed knowing what has captivated her interest, "Go ahead, give them a pet, I won't bite." He tries to say it jokingly, but thankfully it is lost on Celine, and she goes on to give him a cautious stroke over his sensitive second pair of ears. The only physical feature he retained upon turning into a humanoid, his 'ears' weren't exactly true ears, but they felt and acted exactly like he remembered they did in his canine form, and they still granted him better hearing too. A low-key whine escapes from the back of his throat, surprising everyone at the sound, and causing Maron to embarrassingly cover his mouth and take a step back from the group of three. Giving a cough, Maron turned his eyes to the last person in the group, the ashy, silver haired beauty that had caught his eye.
He smiles and takes a step towards her, taking in her scent as he pushes his face towards her, eyes closed as he drinks it all in. Exciting his memories as the same girl who could understand him in his canine form, he smiled and pulled back out of her personal space. Kneeling before her, he takes her hand before she can resist, and gives it a kiss. "We meet once more, Miss, though perhaps I've changed a bit more since our last meeting," Maron states, letting go over her hand and turning to look up at her cerulean eyes, "As beautiful as I remember, those cold cerulean eyes, that flowing, silver hair..." A little to eager and excited, he quickly jumps up as if to grab her, but instead he quickly grasps at a lock of her hair, taking in the scent of watermelon, sweat, and other scents tangled up in the entirety of her form. Deeper than mere memories, than visual colors painted in the landscape of his mind, to one such as he who is part dog, her scent added upon his vision of her another whole, complex layer that seemed to be bursting with sweet confusion, tense anxiety, and sharp, bitter anger. He barely feels himself pitch forward, the ground suddenly swimming up to meet him, as he feels conflicting sensations of trauma to his stomach that make him both feel breathless and feel like he could throw up at the same time. Blonde hair enters the fringes of his vision, and shortly later the hard, cold ground is replaced with the softer, lumpy couch that had been abandoned underneath the bridge. He laughed as he felt unconsciousness calling him, happy he still had a perfect image crafted in his head now, despite the pain.
"Nana, why did you do that!" Rito yells, witnessing the Devilukean Princess suddenly go from shocked to pissed at the stranger suddenly assaulting her personal space, while saying weird things that didn't make sense. 'Although I can understand why that seemed so strange,' Rito thinks to himself, 'Maron was spouting nonsense about blue eyes and silver hair, when Nana has pink hair and purple eyes...' Scooping up the supine form of his downed friend(?), Rito gently lifted him up from the ground and flipped him onto his side and onto the forgotten couch. Nana was steaming on the sidelines, with a pouting Celine puffing up her face and beating her little fists against the tough girl's thigh.
"Mau!" Celine stated indignantly towards a surprised Nana's reaction, "Bad Nana, no hurting Maron!" At that, both Rito and Nana were surprised at the toddler's reactions, albeit for different reasons.
"M-Maron?" Nana says incredulously, staring at the fainted human, or rather now that she had a better look, alien child before them, straying over the ears that make up part of his hair, "He's at the very least from Sirius, or Canis Major, probably a stray one trying to make a pack and a name for himself on Earth..." She clicks her tongue and turns to Rito. "You were talking to him, weren't you Rito?" Nana insinuates a little bit harsher than normal, "Tell Celine she's wrong, that this- Kid, can't be that sweet, adorable, missing pet of Sairenji's!" Her exasperation was evident, but her face fell as Rito refused to look her in the eyes in favor of making sure the unconscious child was alright. "Ri-to, that's not Maron, is it?" she changes her tune, feeling a little hesitant now, putting a hand over her mouth realizing what she had done, "Oh my gosh, how is he like that?" She goes over to stand above where his head rests, Rit and Celine at the front of the couch, while Nana tentatively examines him in a new light. "Dogs have a form of colorblindness, they don't have as many cones as a human eyes does, so they can't distinguish colors like pink or purple, or even orange and green..." Nana states as she gently brushes her hand against the ears on top of his head, seemingly transfixed by the unusual features, "If he's now a Beastman he's obviously Canidae, but is it Lycan descent, or Vulpine..." She mumbles to herself a bit, before turning away and walking a bit away from the couch, biting on her thumb in worry.
Deciding to walk over to where Nana stood, Rito grabbed onto her so as to shake her from her mutterings. Nana turns to him in surprise, but settles down as she shakes her head. "Nana, is everything okay?" Rito asks the Devilukean princess, "What does it matter if he's one or another?" Nana glances over to watch Celine climb up onto the couch, on the far side where Maron's feet don't quite reach, and just silently watch him. She sighs before grabbing his ear and pulling it closer, while lowering the sound of her voice.
"You know how during a full moon, Celine becomes fully grown until the next morning, something in her biology causing her to transform?" Rito nods as she says this, listening closely as she continues, "Most sentient species don't react to stimuli like that, or only do during certain parts of their life cycle, except Lycanthropic Beastmen; though almost all can trace their roots through lupine ancestors, the Galactic War killed nearly all of the Lupus bloodline left in this galaxy because of this inherently dangerous instability..." Rito begins to think he knows where this is going, but he hopes it isn't what he thinks it will be. "If he is a pureblood, Maron will be very dangerous to be around during a full moon; he'll have to be locked away in a secure room capable of withstanding the strongest of animals," she states, a look of worry crossing her face as she closes her eyes, "Have you ever heard of those 'What-wolves', in your Earth fiction?" He forgives her mistranslation, as she continues on with her explanation. "Maron will assume more animalistic qualities, his natural instincts will begin to take over, and things like 'hunting' and 'mating', savage thoughts and primal desires will overwhelm his senses," Nana continues, "Physically he'll probably remain looking the same, but in his feral state he would rival, and perhaps even surpass, Zastin in terms strength and sheer power..." She opens her eyes, full of concern, and stares at Maron's sleeping face, as Celine begins to drum on his legs with her hands to get him back up.
"Are you saying we can't leave him here by himself?" Rito asks, knowing that tonight was supposed to be a full moon, Mikan having the calendar marked in preparation of the monthly visit of an adult Celine who sheds her child like form and mentality, "He's been like this for months, how come he hasn't done anything before, if its as bad as you say?" Nana puts a hand to her cheek, pondering that thought as well.
"That's the strange part, from what Zastin told me of his experiences with Lycan's, its that their unpredictability is their one constant, when various planets could have multiple moons and varying instances of lunar wavelength bombardment," she states, walking back over to the couch to grab Celine by the waist and move her, stopping her assault on the helpless man, "Maybe because he has been someone's pet, perhaps he can control how he reacts in this state, maybe someone has been helping him, giving him somewhere safe to stay in in the meantime, or it could just be pure, dumb luck that he hasn't come across another human while undergoing this change..." A sudden stirring halts their conversation, as Maron groans awake, slowly sitting up with Rito's help.
"Actually- since you guys are being so loud," he huffs, opening his eyes to stare up at both Nana and Rito, "I can let you know that Mikado-Sensei has been letting me stay down in her isolation ward she keeps for the really sick patients; she notices I'm definitely more calm than the monsters she heard about in stories as a child, but I think its all just exaggeration myself, I can still reason, I just ignore it.." Suddenly coughing, he pulls back his hand to reveal a bit of blood in his phlegm, but he keeps it from view and casual hides it from Celine by wiping it on the outside of the dirtied couch. "Dang, you got quite a punch there, Miss Hime-Sama," Maron states, looking up at her once more, "Thanks for not letting me stay on the ground, that would have been uncomfortable to wake to." He says it with a smile, but Rito and Nana both wonder if it is forced. "Well, I got to get going now that everything is dry," Maron states, as he gets up and stretches his stiff joints, "Shizu has to go out tonight to get some groceries for the Doctor's home, I better get back so I can help her out, or I'll be out a dinner tonight too." He gets up to leave, but a hand from Nana stops him.
"S-sorry for overacting like that, okay?" she says hesitatingly, "I thought you were just a creep, but I'm glad we finally found you, Maron." He looks surprised at that, but quickly smiles and laughs it off.
"Yeah, well now that you guys know about me, I think I won't have to avoid you all so much now when I'm out and about as Doc's errand boy," he states with a beaming grin, as he takes her hand once more and grazes his lips against her knuckles, "As long as I get to keep seeing your pretty face and eyes, I think that will make up for both of our mistakes." Rito swore he heard a tea kettle going off, but shook it off with a laugh upon seeing Nana's red face, as Maron grabbed the remainder of his stuff and headed off in the opposite direction to their home.
"S-shut up, don't give me that look," Nana states, punching him lightly in the shoulder as they start walking back towards home, having left their hiding spot with Celine walking between the both of them, "If you ever tell anyone what I did today, they won't believe it, so don't even try, ok?" She smiles as they continue on going home, and Rito rolls his eyes a bit but continues forward, toward his home.
Rito may have not been able to get any of his frustration worked off, but at least he was able to find out that his favorite pooch was okay and living nearby. He may not have known it, but even after Haruna left, she tried to and failed to have her sister and friends search for the pooch before the end of summer and the unexpected move, though that had come later the weathered flyers could still be found around town. Perhaps a call to a certain purple-nette was due, at least to ease the worries she had probably never had abated after reconnecting with her friends. For now he would go home, talk everything out with Lala, and figure out what they were going to do next. He wouldn't let anything happen to his home, his family, or his friends, and he knew neither would she, for soon it would be as much hers as it was his.
OoOoOoOoOoO
"We're back!" Rito calls out, as he opens the door to his home, allowing Celine and Nana in before he closes and locks the door behind him, "Mikan? Lala? Momo?" Momo peeks out of the kitchen, wearing an apron and mixing something in a bowl, a smile gracing her face as she catches sight of everyone.
"Ah, everything go alright with your Mother then?" Momo asks, as Celine pulls a blushing and frantic Nana into the hallway and up towards the stairs. Momo raises an eyebrow at that, as Mikan walks down from the upstairs and passes them by.
"Is everything alright with Nana?" Mikan asks, as she crosses her arms and gives her brother a look, "Did you do something strange to her, Rito?" She puffs her cheeks out into a pout, staring him down and tapping her foot impatiently waiting for a response. "What do I need to tell Lala about now, Oniisan?" she threatens him, which causes him to throw his hands up in surprise, as he hastily tries to appease her.
"Wait, no, nothing happened because of me, geez Mikan!" he complains, looking relieved as her expression becomes a little bit judging yet hard to read, "We met someone coming back from the park, they saw Nana and got a little too excited... Nana kind of overreacted and socked him, but the guy was in the wrong too, you know?" He then had a question for her, now that her expression softened with a sigh. "Now- what were you doing upstairs, and where is Lala?" he asks his younger sister and Momo, "I thought she had stayed behind expressly to help you out Mikan." Momo shares a glance with Mikan, before convincing Celine to follow her into the kitchen, leaving the Yuuki siblings to talk.
"Lala's upstairs, waiting for you in your room, Rito," Mikan states plainly, sighing and crossing her arms, "She didn't want me to say anything more than that, but you should go up there now and speak with her, or else you may not like the surprise..." With a wry and knowing smile, Mikan follows Celine and Momo into the kitchen to help finish up. This left a confused and puzzled Rito at the foot of the stairs, so he blinked and stared up the steps before ascending them to figure out what was suddenly going on.
Knocking on the door to his room, he puts his hand to the doorknob. "I'm coming in," he announces as he opens the door to his room, as silly as it seemed, "Lala, I don't know what you're doing in my room, but unless you're planning..." He stops mid sentence and blinks at the assortment on the floor and on his bed, as he stares flabbergasted at the scene before him. Lala turns as if to acknowledge him, a smile lighting up her features as she hops over piles neatly arranged on the floor, to glomp him tightly. Startled, they collide against the mirror on the back of his door, jostling the portal but thankfully not activating it and tumbling through the looking glass like previous times. "Lala, what's going on?" he asks in amazement, staring at the various piles of clothing, both on his bed and the floor, most of it his, but some of it neatly folded undergarments and clothing of the feminine variety that are not his sister's clothes, "What, are we taking a trip and I'm only hearing about it now?"
She rubs her silken hair into his shoulder and neck, tickling his nape, while staring up at him with a sheepish smile. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought she looked like Mikan, when he caught her with her hands in the cookie jar... "Ehh?" he states in disbelief, as she still doesn't answer him, "EehhhhHHHHHH?" He stumbles over to the massive suitcase, obviously Devilukean in its design, sitting on his bed, he admires its sleek, metallic look before taking a look at its contents. The half packed suitcase on his bed is stuffed with folded clothes, what looks to be some tools or parts, and what looks to be some kind of envelope with a Devilukean seal on it. He turns back to Lala with a questioning gaze. "Where are you going? Where am I going?" he asks, "And why are you packing it all into one massive suitcase?" She coughs nervously as he picks up some of her clothes on the floor, before she grabs them from him and packs them away.
"I-uhm, heard about the message my father sent you, and I listened to it while you were at the airport seeing Rito-Mama off," she states wringing her hands along the edges of her shirt, while bashfully avoiding Rito's gaze, "My Papa didn't give you much of a choice Rito, you reacted so badly this morning I was worried enough to try and figure out what was in the message; if only to see what I could do to help." At this point she walks closer to him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder and pulling in for a chaste kiss on the lips. "You and I both need to learn we aren't alone anymore in our burdens," she states, grabbing his left hand with her own, entwining fingers so the rings are clearly visible, "We can do this together, solve this new problem, using your knowledge of Earth and my upbringing as a Princess as a way to bring about a solution." Rito feels uneasy, but tries to hide his nervousness with a smile.
"So, what are we doing, then?" he asks, deciding to help her pack the suitcase if he can't convince her to stop, "Where are we going?" Lala smirks proudly as she packs the last few stacks into the metal container, closing it and sitting on top while motioning for him to zip it shut.
"We're heading to Gaama!" she replies cheerfully, putting a finger to her temple, closing one eye, and sticking out her tongue, "Kidding! Daddy already took care of the liquidation of Lacospo's assets, he deposited it into the same account our rings allow us access to, and that account is held in the outer galactic financial district..." He raises his eyes in question, which she quickly realizes means he expects her to continue. "Ah! It's a collection solar systems that span a couple of quadrants; the various collective species who live there turned asteroids and barren planets into, well, planet sized vaults to cater to the galactic trade community," she explains, "They were the ones that established the Galactic Value of Units, or G.V.U., that is the trade standard for different planets, empires, and such that acts as a unilateral standard for exchanging different worlds currencies based on their planet's Ranks!" At that Rito pretended he understood, but frowned when he realized what they classified Earth as.
"So, why are we heading there?" he asks, "I don't think Earth has a very high trade value, rankings wise..." Lala nods, but then she taps the side of her head.
"Ah, yes, but the funds we have aren't based off of Earth but of Gaama, which is one of the ten richest empires left in the galaxy; that means the value of our Standard Units is higher since Father converted it into Devilukean credits then into standard," she states, as she pulls out a device and shows him the GVU they had when it was converted, "Look at all those zeros! That's more money than I've ever attained with my lifetime allowance up to now!" Rito's eyes went wide at the amount of zeroes that trailed down a few pages.
"Is that even legal?" he asks, as Lala shrugs. She closes the machine and grabs the bag, taking Rito's hand in her own and pulling him out the bedroom door and down the stairs to the front door.
"You have to remember that this place is the entire sum of a galaxies worth, if not two or three, and by my estimates of what we have here, we could buy the entire solar system three times with this money, and still have enough to retire comfortably to a castle villa on Deviluke," Lala surmises, putting away the space calculator, "and that's before you have the entire wealth of the empire and its territories added to that once you become King." Rito sucks in a breath at that, and turns to Lala with an idea on his lips. "It won't work," she answers before he even asks the question, as if she had read his mind, "I thought of buying the solar system up too, but this is a GPD safety issue; terrorists are more important than the rights of who owns what planet." He visibly deflates at that, but she gives him a reassuring squeeze with her hand. "It's fine, we will figure this out, but we need funds to back whatever we plan to do...," she opens the door, and in front of his house Mikado Ryoko stands with her arms crossed over her bountiful bosom, "Which is why I convinced Mikado-sensei to take us, while she goes hunting for rare medicinal plants!" Rito looks outside the door, to find Ryouko Mikado already standing by her car, as if she was waiting for them. Rito quickly stops Lala from going any further, forcing her to ccle back as mid-step, turning to face Rito with a puzzled expression.
"But- what about school, work, we can't just skip out again for another month,or I won't ever graduate," Rito states with concern, as reality crashes down on him like a wave once more, "We've been gone for one or two months already Lala, if we miss much more of the school curriculum, even the school board will become aware of my absences, and force that lazy, perverted Principal of ours school to finally take action regarding all the crazy things that have happened over the past three years!" Lala sees the concern in his eyes, but she smiles and brushes her hand against his cheek, forcing him to stop staring down Mikado's car like it was his last ride, and gently guides him to face her.
"I know, I know its not ideal, but at most we'll be gone two or three days traveling there on the main causeways, but we don't have to stay there once we get things set up," Lala states, as she gets him to focus on her, "The banks deal in a lot of things, like most financial institutes they also deal in objects sold to them by their various clients and such for collateral." Rito raises an eyebrow at that, but she just laughs knowing she was going to spoil the surprise for him. "Rito, I'm sure as a guy you've always wanted to own your own car, right?" he nods,wondering how that correlated, but she just giggles again in response, "Well, so we don't have to worry about where Yami-san and the Lunatique is, or when Zastin gets better, what would you say about owning your own space cruiser?" Rito blinks, while Lala waits for his response. He turns around and puts a hand to his forehead, before he shows a disbelieving grin.
"Can I get one that's a car too?" he jokes, as she laughs in response, "What, haven't you ever heard of flying car; they're popular in Earth science fiction books and movies!" He grabs the suitcase, leaning down and kissing her as she passes the heavy suitcase into his hands. "Let's go," he says, slightly begrudgingly as he pulls away, "Mikado-Sensei is waiting.." Lala sighs happily as she turns back to the door and gives a thumbs up. Mikan waves goodbye back, with Nana and Momo looking over her shoulders, Celine heartily waving from Nana's shoulders.
A/N: Trouble is brewing, isn't it? We welcome the first introduction of Human!Maron into this story, follow how he got here in my One-Shot collection, of which the first part of his story is now out. Sorry for such a lengthy set, 11,000 plus words, but its to make up for not posting regularly. Originally this was two chapters, but splitting it up made it lose impact, so an extra long Chapter Three!
Don't forget to favorite, follow, and especially, Review, as it helps keep my mental juices flowing. Thanks for everyone who has stuck around so far!
edit: Not another update, sorry. Minor word change, as I realized I was referencing flowers, not wolves...