Hi, everyone! Sorry it took me so long to get this up. So many complications... but you don't want to hear about that, do you? Of course you don't. So, let's get to the replies!
WindGoddess Rune: I know, it's so sad. :( I figured that something must've happened to her family, otherwise she wouldn't have been working in the restaurant like that; even though the world of Blue Dragon has different standards than ours, it still seems a little unusual for a 10-year old to have a job. But Shu goes into the Resistance when he's 12, so... Oh, I don't know. It just seems like she would've at least said something to her parents. Never mind, though; I'll elaborate on the whole story with Bouquet's family at a later date (but not in this story). I don't know why you couldn't get the link... It must be something with the site. I couldn't see the website that you sent me, but I've seen other pictures of Himiko - some magazine scans, and she was in the trailer for Blue Dragon: Ikai no Kyojuu. I still haven't seen her Shadow, though (well, I did see a silhouette).
The Flying Frog: Thank you. *blushes* Well... That's okay. Yes, Shu is probably more brash, though he becomes very mature in season two (more than in season one and his game version). I got a little confused with this next part of your review, because I couldn't figure out what you were talking about, but... um... thanks? I'll work with it anyway. As for where I watch it... YouTube, Veoh and Youku. Youku I usually use if I can't wait for the episode to go anywhere else, because it's usually uploaded several hours after the new episodes air in Japan. YouTube I usually go to so I can comment on videos, because it's the only place I have an account. But Veoh is probably the best one, because it has a much, much higher quality than Youku, and the episodes aren't broken up into three parts like they are on YouTube - the only problem is that it's a long wait sometimes. Overall, I'd suggest Veoh, though. :)
ultimashadow: Thanks! I reviewed your new story, too. ;) Like I said there, looking forward to the carnival one... and is it game or anime?
Prince of Tennis' Shaman: Hi to you, too! Aw... That's so nice. There was something above a trillion, but I forgot what it was. Your reviews give me encouragement, and spur me on to write better chapters! :) I think a lot of the problems with this chapter and the following ones was that I lost confidence without your reviews. Not that I'm pressuring you to review or anything; believe me, I know how it is to get too busy to come online. But, try to come around when you get the chance. :) Yay!! I'm looking forward to it! Well, like I said ealier, I like the episodes that Miyako Tsuji worked on, but there's no reason not to watch the other ones if I can understand them. ;) So, yeah - you can start from the beginning, or any order you prefer. Don't worry about it being inaccurate; I've been learning some Japanese, so I'll be able to make it out. ;) I've been having a problem getting files through that, but I'm hoping it'll come through. If it doesn't work, just write the whole thing out and send it like that.
Alright, there are the replies. With that, we'll get on with the pestering disclaimer, and to the story!
Disclaimer: I do not own Blue Dragon. How could I make a Japanese game/anime if I haven't finished learning Japanese yet?
Edit: I've decided to change the scene with Bouquet and Shu after they read the P.S. of Kluke's note. After reading some reviews, I agree, and have decided that Shu's response to Bouquet was too dramatic (is it any coincidence that I wrote that scene during my writer's block?). Readers should also keep in mind that a side effect of the SCI is that it makes you slightly hormonal, so at times, neither Shu nor Kluke are thinking clearly. Plus, Shu was upset, and felt like Bouquet was pushing her "fiance" stuff on him; that little extra thing pushed him over the edge. Regardless, the scene is changed and will hopefully be a more enjoyable read. I didn't like it much, either, so changing it wasn't that big of a loss (besides, the change was minor). So, I apologize and hope you like this better.
Edit 2: Darn it... I'm about five seconds from scraping this whole chapter. After The Flying Frog's helpful (and nice) review of chapter eight, I've made another correction. Sorry about this. Hopefully there won't be too many more of these notes.
Edit 3: Okay... The only edit to this was the review replies. I don't remember if anyone saw the original review replies, but for some reason, I lost all of them. So I went back and corrected it by memory to the best of my abilities... It might be a little different now, so you might want to take a look. ;)
Edit 4: Ugh... This site is so weird sometimes. I found the missing review replies; somehow they ended up at the bottom of the document. But I've fixed it now, so you can disregard Edit 3.
When everyone woke up, Kluke was already gone. She did leave a note:
Already left for work. Sorry for the trouble. -Kluke
"Can you believe her?" Bouquet snorted after Zola finished reading it. "She makes everyone worry like that, and then she just ups and leaves in the morning without even saying goodbye in person."
"I thought you said she was faking." Jiro shot her a sideways glance.
"Sh-she was!" Bouquet stuttered.
"Oh man..." Shu's shoulders slumped. "Now I have to go through another day without her here. Doesn't she know that I don't have anything to do when she isn't around?"
"Don't worry, Darling," Bouquet sidled up to him. "We can spend the day together."
"Uh... no, that's alright." Shu backed away.
"She didn't even say why she passed out..." Jiro looked away, something flickering in his eyes.
Bouquet saw; she smirked. "I told you. Girls can faint at will."
"Look, I felt her fall in my arms and it was pretty real!" He glared at her.
Shu shot daggers at him with his eyes. "Well, if it bugs you so much, why didn't you just let her fall to the ground?"
"B-both of you shut up!" Jiro blushed, crossing his arms and squeezing his eyes shut.
"Hey, look, maro! There's something written over here, maro." Marumaro pointed to the back of the paper.
P.S. Don't get into trouble, Shu.
Shu trembled with rage. Was that all she thought he was? A baby, to be looked after and taken care of? She probably didn't think of Jiro like that. Of course she didn't; even if she couldn't trust Shu to catch her, she could rely on Jiro.
Bouquet laid a hand on his shoulder. "Shu..."
"Would you just leave me alone?" Shu shrugged away her hand, stepping even further away.
"What's gotten into you all of a sudden?" Jiro uncrossed his arms.
"You know better than anyone what's 'gotten into me'!" Shu shouted at him.
"Shu, I need you to do something for me," Zola interrupted. "The medicine for you and Kluke is running low. I want you to go with Marumaro to pick it up."
"Why do I have to go, maro?!" Marumaro whined.
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about it too much," Zola smiled knowingly. "White Day is coming up soon, so there will be a lot of girls out shopping..."
"Shu, let's go, maro!!" Marumaro had already grabbed his hand, running so fast he was already in front of the door.
"Marumaro, wait!" Shu's yelling started to fade as they got further from the inn.
"Why did you do that?" Jiro looked towards Zola once they had left.
"Well, I thought it was probably a good idea for them to get some fresh air," Zola started walking away. "Boys their age, and yours, shouldn't be cooped up all the time."
"If that's true, than why am I still here?" Jiro mumbled. But Zola had already left.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bouquet still standing in the same spot she'd been in since Shu had walked out of her reach. She was hanging her head, and had been silent since she said Shu's name.
Sighing resignedly, he decided to try and talk to her. "Bouquet, you can't stay there all day."
"Why not?" her voice was quiet and monotone.
"Because people need to pass-" his stomach growled. Oh, of all the...
She seemed to perk up. "Are you hungry?"
"...Yeah."
"Hang on a minute." she walked off.
When she didn't return, he shrugged and went to lay on his bed; he found that a good book solved most things.
A few minutes later, he was interrupted by the sounds of clanging metal. He sat up, propping himself up with his elbows. Why was it so hard for him to get any peace?
He waited a little while, where the banging continued with cease. A few sounds joined it occasionally - namely, running water - and then it abruptly stopped.
Once it seemed like it was over, he pushed off the bed and walked quietly towards the door leading into the other rooms. He'd only got a few steps when the door burst open, knocking him over.
"Hello, Jiro-kun!" In her arms, Bouquet held a tray piled high with food.
"What is it with you people and the 'kun' thing?" he grumbled from his spot on the ground as Bouquet walked past him.
She set the tray on the table. "Here's your meal, dear."
Jiro gaped at her. "Dear?"
She turned and smiled at him warmly, eyes closed. "You shouldn't let your food get cold, darling."
Jiro shot up. "Wow, hold the phone! Darling... Y-you're supposed to call Shu 'darling', not me!"
"Shu isn't here right now." She took a step toward him, and he took a step back.
"Bouquet, you're really starting to creep me out." He tried to stop his voice from shaking, failing horribly.
Bouquet sighed with exasperation. "Come on, Jiro, at least eat the food."
He stopped trying to get away; that sounded more like her, at least. And he was hungry...
Eyeing her carefully every step of the way, Jiro walked over to the table where Bouquet had put the food, sitting down. He looked it over for a minute, then began to eat very slowly.
As soon as the first bite was in his mouth, he grabbed his cheek, eyes wide. "Bouquet... This is delicious. It's just the way my mother used to make breakfast."
"I used some old family recipes." She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.
Jiro looked at her quizzically. "What's wrong?"
She almost told him; the words had almost been out of her mouth, but she bit her lip. If anyone would understand, it would be him - he knew what it was like. She wasn't close with him at all, to say the least, but maybe that was why she almost told him instead of someone else. She didn't want to bother anyone else; they all had so much to handle already. But he was already shouldering this pain. If she told him, it wouldn't make any difference. "Nothing." her voice was tight.
"Well... Thank you for making this for me." he actually smiled.
Bouquet found herself blushing, though she didn't know why. "No problem."
From her spot in the hallway, next to the doorway, Zola chuckled.
Bouquet had asked her earlier, while they'd been looking for Kluke before they found the note, if Zola could help her get some time alone with Jiro; Zola had been curious, but hadn't questioned her about it.
From her position in the slight darkness, she could see how both of them were chatting together happily. Thinking back, Zola could remember Jiro being that happy only once since they had started traveling together. And, she had to admit, it was a nice sight to see.
Whew! That part wasn't actually supposed to be that long, but the rest of what was supposed to happen this chapter will instead go in Chapter 8. So... Review if you like. I'd still like to know whether I should move this to the Blue Dragon category in the Anime section. I guess if enough people tell me to move it, I will. Otherwise, this and my other Blue Dragon stories will remain here. By the way, the "kun" was inspired by Episode 29 of season one (very funny scene). Well, next chapter we'll see how things are going with Kluke's job. And we'll check up on Shu and Marumaro's adventure in the pharmacy. ;) After 10 hits, chapter eight hopefully won't take as long as seven. See you then! :D