After Fungus went back into the kitchen and slipped some Shintaran herbs into Gordon's milk moss, the hot appetizers and later main course came out without a hitch. In fact, after the wait, everything seemed to run on schedule!
At one point during the dinner, Mindy came up to Zane's spot at the table and licked him from head to toe. "Hahaha, I missed you too Mindy!" the nindroid laughed.
"Man, to think you almost killed us," Kai chuckled. Mindy gave him a look, and Kai uttered a quick apology. Gulch just smirked. "She always delivered a solid verdict! Shame we no longer have a use for the Mino Trials ever since crime plummeted around Geckle Parliament."
Pixal, meanwhile, couldn't help but lower an eyelid. Mindy seemed friendly, but still, she thought she was the only one who could get that close to Zane… No, bad Pixal! She thought. What are you doing? You aren't meant to get jealous over a Mino, of all things… right?
Suddenly, Vania stood up, and tapped her glass with her fork, creating a resounding clinking sound in the dining hall, to which everyone quieted down over. "Thank you all," she smiled earnestly. "I would first off like to thank the Ninja, for accepting our invitation to return to our fair city on the anniversary of them saving it - a round of applause for our heroes!"
Everyone in the dining hall then stood up to clap and cheer for the Ninja; guards laid down their staffs, the chefs stepped out of the kitchen, and Fungus tossed up a few firework shrooms to really drive the point home. Shintaro was forever grateful for what these seven individuals had done to protect their home.
The Ninja and Wu all had a varying degree of humility come upon them at the praise - they didn't get this often, honestly. Yes, fans would ask for pictures and autographs, and the occasional interview with Gayle Gossip, but to be given a standing ovation by a whole city once considered mythical was truly something special.
After the applause finally died down, Vania's smile only grew wider. "As my final motion of gratitude to them, this Friday - that's two days from now, we will be hosting a town dance and gala in their honor in this very Hall!"
Gasps and murmurs went around the Grand Hall, each with praise and wonder for the Queen's motion. The Ninja all looked at one another in shock and excitement, hardly able to believe that they weren't even through with all of the festivities at Shintaro.
Cole looked up at Vania in the most surprise, and the Queen gave him a soft and tender smile. Cole felt his eyes meet hers, and the gaze was like electricity - they both broke away from the eye contact instantly, but they both felt that lingering feeling of wanting to meet eyes again.
The Queen then cleared her throat, and continued speaking. "Entry is permitted to all of those who attend. We will need a group of volunteer musicians, however, so applications for that will be-"
"We gotcha covered!" Plundar raised his hand and spoke up, gesturing to the other Upply members.
"Oh yes, we've been doing a fair bit of music in our spare time!" Fungus added with a smile. "Plundar plays the bass, and I must say, I've bettered my tune carrying skills recently!" "Korgran plays mean trombone," Korgran said excitedly. "And Adam… well, he's emotional support."
"And he's damn good at it!" Plundar smiled, patting his friend on the head, who wiggled happily.
"Umm… okay then! Music applications no longer needed, I guess," Vania giggled. "Anyway, Friday - gala. Time to be determined. Enjoy your desserts, everyone!"
At that moment, the Geckle and Munce chefs came out of the kitchen, with a variety of delicacies for everyone to enjoy after their main courses. It was a delicious and perfectly made strawberry sorbet, which everyone enjoyed thoroughly.
"Delish!" Jay smiled, blowing a chef's kiss. "Gordon and his posse really know how to cook! Please, Chancellor, send them my complements!"
"Of course!" Gulch said. "Although I must warn you, he has very anticlimactic reactions to compliments."
"Is true," Murtessa vouched. "I once try to say his cooking was good at a wedding, and all he said in response? Poggers."
"What does that even mean?" Lloyd asked.
"You don't wanna know," Gulch whispered.
"Well, regardless of whatever 'poggers' means," Wu said, "this meal was absolutely delicious."
"Yes it was!" Cole chorused. "Thank you so much for organizing all of this for us, Vania. I… I can't put into words how great it's been seeing you again." "Oh, t-thank you Cole!" Vania smiled, looking down and blushing. "I… I feel the exact same. I really do."
Everyone at the table exchanged a glance (somehow going unnoticed by Cole and Vania) at this conversation between Cole and Vania, and they all had a knowing look on their features. The Ninja were all smirking too - they knew that face. Oh, they knew it alright…
Fungus then cleared his throat. "Looks like several peoples are departing… should we do the same?"
"I am pretty full - I could use a nap," Plundar shrugged.
"I have royal duties that I must attend to, unfortunately," Vania sighed. "But I will do my best to make time for you all later today; if not then, tomorrow! I must hear all about this new adventure of your all's."
"Oh you're gonna love it," Nya smiled. "This is one of my personal favorites!"
And with that, the party around the royal table slowly began to filter out to either go explore more of Shintaro, attend to duties they had to get done today, or go back to their rooms to rest.
Cole, meanwhile…
Well, he had other plans.
-0-
8:00 PM
Zane decided that a leisurely stroll was in order for himself - Pixal was currently working on some sort of upgrade on her armor, and he didn't think it would be kind of him to interrupt her. So, he put his armor back on just in case, and stepped out of his room.
The Shintaran sunset was… breathtaking. He made sure to save several visuals of it in his memory bank, for this was something he did not wish to forget.
"Amazing…" he whispered, barely even audible.
Zane continued walking down the hallway, looking up every so often to observe a new cloud or the sun going even further down. It was absolutely amazing, and he loved every minute of it… now he wished he had brought Pixal along. She loved sunsets…
But then, he heard something.
He wasn't completely out of the area where all of the Ninja's rooms were, and the closest one was Cole - speaking of the Earth Ninja, there were sounds of frustration coming from his room.
"Hmm," Zane muttered. "Another Geckle invasion, perhaps? I better take a look."
Zane walked over to Cole's room, and the frustration was even more apparent - there was probably something going on. "Cole? Brother, are you okay?" Zane asked, knocking on the door a few times.
"Huh?" the voice inside said. "Z-Zane? Is that you?"
"As far as I know," Zane said.
"D-Don't come in here buddy! I-I'm doing something!" Cole said, a bit panicked by the sound of things.
"Too late, my hand is on the doorknob," Zane said. "You know as well as I that I cannot stop once I-...oh."
Zane's eyes widened as he saw what was before him - Cole's hair was standing straight up, and he had a brush, hair ties, and a bandana surrounding him. "...What is the purpose of all of this?"
Cole sighed. "You know how we have that big gala we have to go to on Friday? I wanted to see if I could do my hair in a way that would… uhm, well…" "Be appealing to Queen Vania?" Zane asked, raising a brow and smirking. "How are you so good at this?!"
"There is nothing wrong with wanting to look good to impress the Queen, Cole," Zane smiled good-naturedly. "However, she would probably admire you based on the content of your character alone. Not the way you style your hair."
Cole smiled. "Well, thanks buddy… but still, I would like to try and style it. Help a brother out?"
"Of course," Zane nodded.
He walked over and sat down on the bed. Cole pulled up a chair and sat in front of him, and Zane got to work - he was the one who gave all of the Ninja their haircuts, so he knew what he was doing here. In less than three minutes, he seemed to be done.
"Check yourself out, if you'd like. I hope I did a good job," Zane smiled. Cole got up and walked to his bathroom, where he looked at himself in the mirror - and his jaw dropped. His bangs were no longer as prevalent, having been tossed over a brown bandana that now was around his head. And his long hair in the back was now tied up in a small ponytail, so it didn't sink down as far.
"DUDE!" Cole exclaimed. "I look awesome! Thank you so much Zane!"
"You're very welcome, Cole," Zane smiled. "I wish you all the best with this new styling."
"Thanks buddy," Cole smiled, hugging Zane as a thank you - that was the Ninja's way of paying him for cutting their hair, anyway. "Oh, and uhm… c-could I ask you something?"
"Of course," Zane said.
"...How'd you know Pixal was the one for you?"
Zane smiled. "Oh, Cole… just because I am with Pixal does not mean I know how I did it." The two shared a laugh, before Zane continued. "If I'm honest, I felt it when we first met - even if I didn't realize it at first. It's a feeling that creeps up on you slowly, but once it's there, you cannot deny it. I presume this is in reference to Queen Vania?"
Cole sighed. "Yeah… but she's a queen, man. I don't have a chance with her."
"Before she was a queen, she was your friend," Zane reminded Cole. "And you two have remained as such ever since. I doubt her status changes much."
"You really… you really think so?" Cole asked.
"My calculations are never wrong," Zane smirked. "Well, I'm off to go back to my room. Good evening and goodnight Cole."
"You too, buddy," Cole said. "Thanks again for the hair-do!" "Of course," Zane smiled gently. And as he left, a million thoughts began to race through Cole's head all at once...
-0-
Thank you guys so so much for reading! I didn't expect this story to get as much attention as it ended up getting, and for that I am forever grateful. If you'd be so kind as to leave a review, I'd love to hear your thoughts! :)
In these next few chapters, we start to really get to the good good stuff... stay tuned friends! ;)