He was late. Again.

The lights were cast low, the wind whispering nightly secrets, the Palace standing tall and proud. I'd been waiting here, at our place, tracing patterns into the dirt with a nearby fallen branch. He'd told me to arrive here at this time, when the people were sleeping and stars were out. Yet where was he? Late. As usual.

Or perhaps I was too early?

I went red, shoving the end of the branch more roughly into the ground. Curse him. Curse him. Curse him!

When the object in my hands snaps, I jolt back a few feet, huffing from the sudden explosion of adrenaline. Feeling foolish, I clutch at my chest and sigh, tending to the quivering of my lips. Whether I was fighting back a smile or an irritated scowl, I wasn't entirely certain. However I did note the second presence behind me, laughing quietly to himself.

I swiveled around, tucking away the humiliation, then stop to find it had actually been a "her". And not just any "her".

"N-Naomi! What are you doing here?" I whisper, failing to hide the panic rising in my voice. If she stayed here any longer...

Her eyes crinkled in pure delight as she stepped beneath the luminous sky. With a finger she pointed accusingly at me and wagged with feign agitation.

"Well, what'd you expect? You've been acting so strange, sneaking off through the night and not bothering to tell me what sort of meetings you've been having." She takes a second to approach, placing her hands threateningly on her hips. When I rolled my eyes, she scoffed. "You're too easy to track, K. You should be thanking me."

"For what?" I hissed, stepping forward to begin propelling her back into the shadows and away. She simply evaded my attempt, jumping to the side and narrowing her eyes.

"Now you'll know to be more careful about stalkers."

I nodded vigorously, dashing behind her and placing my palms on her back. Cold sweat beaded the base of my neck and I feared my company would soon increase, and I really didn't feel like dealing with explanation and introduction. Especially when it involved a scandalous freak like Naomi.

"Okay, yes, yes. Thank you, oh great friend of mine, now would you just go on and leave? These people don't take too friendly to strangers, you see?"

"Oh?" she sang, turning to capture my wrists. "Then this'll be exciting. How wonderful! You really know how to make a friend feel loved." With that, she danced over to the midst of the rooftop, bringing me along. Despite my blabbering and persistent excuses to avoid having to deal with the supposed "madmen", she cackled with excitement, telling me to hush, and waited patiently for her expected company.

It wasn't long until Ritzu finally made an appearance.

"Sorry, sorry. I was held up again," he explained, giving the same words he always gave for being late at our meetups. To my sheer embarrassment, I realize how slow he was to notice Naomi was not, in fact, me who was hidden behind her trying to peel away from her shockingly powerful grip. And because of my horrid position, I couldn't be too sure on how well my friend was taking the situation. All I could tell was she was eerily silent. Almost non-existent silent. Which was terrifying because for years I'd been searching for ways to come across this very silence to no avail. But now that her mouth had finally shut, I feared her mind was malfunctioning.

"But! I made sure to bring along a surprise for you!" Ritzu continued to go off excitedly, withdrawing a lone basket, brimming with goods. If it had been just the two of us, I probably would have showered him with hugs. However, with our uninvited guest, I wasn't willing to give her any reasons to assume the worst.

Why Naomi of all people?

"Who..." my friend eventually finds the strength to murmur. I cringed to myself, envisioning the rage she must be going through, noting that her best friend, sworn to be uninterested about men, had been with a male for the past several months without muttering a single word. "Who the hell is this?"

"Hmm?" Ritzu suddenly and finally realized the shadow he'd been speaking to had not been the one he was expecting. With a paling face, of which even I could see in this pitch blackness, he stumbled back, searching the scene for my whereabouts. There being no reason to hide and will this nightmare away, I pushed away from my still-in-shock friend, walking up to Ritzu's panic-stricken fit.

Naomi abruptly snatches my wrist once more, yanking me back in her direction. With a startled 'oof', I tried tugging away only to come face to face with her mortified expression. Her jaw practically skims the ground, and her eyes dart back and forth frantically between Ritzu and I, processing.

"Who the hell is this?" she says again, her voice going shrill. Ritzu, from behind me, shifts his weight between his feet, waiting for my say on the problem at hand. He seemed to ask whether to go right to the confession, or skip to the denial. Quite frankly, denial sounded pretty tempting, however this was Naomi, and I should have known she was bound to figure this out sooner or later.

I sighed, puckering my lips.

"Naomi," I addressed carefully, scared she'd suddenly go rabid and rip my head off were I to upset her any further. "This is Ritzu. Ritzu, this is Naomi." I slipped away from her grip, suddenly going slack. With a gesture toward Ritzu, still silent and unsure of how to react, I make sure to add, "Oh, and before you go on with your downpour of questions, yes, he is indeed a boy."

She said nothing, staring at him, mouth still wide open. This was exactly why I didn't want to go through this ordeal.

"Good evening, Miss Naomi," Ritzu went off in his charming manner, daring a few steps forward and making his ridiculous bow. I rolled my eyes. "Yes, it is as my dearest Fujiin claims. I am indeed of the male species." He took a moment to flash a set of visibly white teeth, rising back up to standing. "Well, at least I should be, the last time I checked."

Naomi continued to say nothing, slowly shutting her mouth close. Grateful to see she was at least breathing, I shook my head, remembering the basket Ritzu had brought for me. Selfishly, I considered just leaving the two to their own introductions and gorge down the fruit.

"Madam?" Ritzu spoke with concern, noting the severity of Naomi's reaction. My lips formed a straight, neutral line.

"Careful," I warned, pocketing my hands, eyeing the food. "With the way you normally talk, that could be your one way ticket to ending up walking down the aisle with her."

Strange. I would have expected Naomi to at least flip out about that one. She remained dead to the world.

"I'm afraid as sweet as your friend may be, I have no interests of going down that path with anyone other than y-"

I cut his sentence off too late. "D-Don't say ridiculous things so freely," I stuttered, flustered, my fingers laced over his mouth. Slowly I turned to check up on Naomi. What I witnessed was the great revival.

Her eyes widened, something I thought to be inhuman with the great size they were already at, and there was a blinding flash of light within them.

I braced for impact.

"Is he...?" Her eyes seemed to pool with...tears? A hand shot to her lips in emotional disbelief, and I found myself sweating bullets. It was official. I had no idea what to expect from here on out. Everything Naomi had in store for me was a mystery. Either she'd kill me, or she'd tick me off to a new, dangerous level.

Ritzu seemed to be enjoying himself.

"Is he..." Naomi went off again, her lips trembling. "Is he your lover-?!"

"No," I answered quickly at around the same time Ritzu answered "Yes."

I glared at him, vowing to have an unpleasant discussion later. He grinned back, suggesting otherwise.

"Kaze..." Naomi whined, growing sickeningly soft. "My girl.. My girl is finally..." She swallowed dramatically, getting all choked up while I felt the need to relieve of my stomach. "My girl is finally turning into a woman!"

"Wha-?!" I exclaimed, going tomato red. As Ritzu began to burst into loud laughter, I spun towards him, grabbing his shoulders and thrashing him about. "Shut up! What are you laughing about?!" I faced Naomi. "And what sort of nonsense are you spewing?!"

She sobered up, sighing as though I were the one being ridiculous.

"Finally you have yourself a boy-"

"He and I are not-!"

"-and yet you're as daft as ever," Naomi fumed, strutting over to where Ritzu stood, ensnared in my furious clutches, grinning stupidly like he had won a prize. With a hearty pat, Naomi clasps her own hands on his shoulders, brightening at the feel of his brawny build. For a tad second, something like an oven overheating comes over me and I have the need to strangle her. Immediately she caught on.

"See that? Right there? Just now you had this sudden desire to strangle me, didn't you?"

I blinked at her, stunned. "How did you-?"

She makes a booming sort of laugh, waving my attempts at speech off. "Elementary my dear. What you felt was perhaps one of the most common emotions in the art of love-"

"I am not in l-"

"-one of the most tragically powerful possessors-"

"Hey!"

"-the persistent, territorial, demonic companion-"

"WOULD YOU-"

"-of our womanly instincts, our dearest jealousy," she finished, looking proud and oblivious to my darkened, homicidal aura. Ritzu suddenly looked smug. He clapped in a loud, slow motion, acting impressed.

"Oh... I see. Fujiin," he acknowledged me, looking apologetic. "I never would have guessed. I'm so sorry for all the times you've had to endure such horrid feelings for me."

"Shut up!" I yelled, my face going tingly and weird. "And you," I hissed at Naomi, huffing. "Wait just a freaking minute. You're making so many assumptions, it's making me nauseous. We," I make a mad gesture between Ritzu and I, "are not a couple. Understand?"

"So how close are the two of you really?" Naomi asked Ritzu, completely blowing me off. He shrugged, enjoying this far too much.

"I've constantly tried convincing her these meet ups are more commonly known as dates," he hinted, casting a charmingly disgusting wink my way. Sourly I glared at him, swallowing the swelling bubble within my belly. Meanwhile Naomi nearly exploded with delight. Her eyes bulged out and her gleeful squeaks commenced. Urgently I pressed a finger to my lips.

"Shh. You'll wake up the whole town!"

She seemed to not give a crap. "So? Let them wake! My baby, THE Kaze, boy in a girl body, has finally awoken!" She jumped over to me, gripping my shoulders, shaking, suggesting a blossoming insanity. "Who wouldn't want to witness this glorious day?!"

Ritzu snorted and I shook my friend away, glowering.

"Quite being dramatic," I grumbled, avoiding Ritzu's penetrating stare. Naomi, ever the observant one, picked up on the tension, grinning mischievously.

"Oh. Oh I see now. Yes, this does seem very Kaze-like..."

I raised a brow, cocking my head confusingly. "And what is that supposed to mean, Nao?" I asked tiredly. She replied with a single, consulting pat on Ritzu's shoulder.

"She's a stubborn one, but if she's willing to hang around you this comfortably, then I'm rooting for you, pal."

Surprised, Ritzu recovered, smiling as if given the best present in the world. He bowed, looking up at her gratefully, leaving me to froth with a gnawing frustration.

"Thank you for your blessing, Madam Naomi." He glanced over at me. I looked away, frowning. "I'll be sure to never rest until she breathes those three words that will melt my heart."

With a jolt, I gawked at him in horror, shielding my warming face from Naomi who was building up her powerful squeals of giddy delight. Ritzu, continuing to smile his innocent smile, gazed at me lovingly, sending me signals that proved his seriousness. And just how was I supposed to react?

"Oh my heavens," my friend breathed, fanning herself, swooning. "Kaze." She widened her eyes, spread her lips in a gleeful manner. "You absolutely mustn't keep this wonderful man waiting!"

"What are you-? N-No!" I stumbled away from the two, creasing my brow in disapproval. The rate things were going, I was certain to explode with overwhelming. This was the nightmare of all nightmares. What I needed was a good spar. Yes, I should go beat some sense into some people. Clear my head up a little. But before I could land a good punch into the nearest person (which happened to be Naomi), Ritzu made sure to sneak up and land a quick, almost dismissive peck to the cheek.

"Yes," he whispered into my ear, sending shivers down my spine. "I'm not the most patient man, especially when it comes to you."

In twelve seconds flat, Naomi and Ritzu were on the ground, one going ballistic with awe and the other laughing while rubbing the sore spot on his chest where I had shoved him away, while I was halfway down the streets, seeking a dark shelter to forget of the troubling tremors shooting through my pounding chest.

Hello all!

So terribly sorry it's been a while, but I'm afraid that school has started for me and I've official survived my first week of Senior year! *epic applause*

Football games are soooooooooooo terribly long and well... I just had to go do the usual ritual of chugging down pixie after pixie stick and going on another all-time high (woo-hoo!)

I'm fairly certain my director now hates my guts. OH WELL.

I hope to see that I haven't lost any fans due to my lack of updating... *fingers crossed*

Welp, I'm working on some more Mustang, I assure you! This here is just a fun little snippet of Misaki's first experience with her blossoming emotions (ooooooooh) So yup. She's a bit terrible when it comes to confrontation in the love cycle (just as I am!) and she tends to head straight for the "punch them and run" strategy (which I assure you I don't do... anymore)

As always, I enjoy sharing her roller coaster of a love tale with you guys! I can't wait until Mustang has her within his clutches (heh heh)

Misaki: "..."

I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING FMA. Just my terribly oblivious to her own feelings Fujiin :D yayyy~~

Thank you!