Volume 4

Teddie grinned widely when Aila came downstairs in her newest sundress. It was a midnight blue that faded from darkest on the top to a gradually lighter shade on the bottom. The thin straps met each other behind her neck and the flowing skirt drifted around her kneecaps. Her strapped heels matched her dress in color and style. As Teddie gawked at her, Aila nervously adjusting the daffodils embedded in her brown up-do.

"What?" She had a slight flush to her cheeks.

"You look amazing!" Teddie exclaimed bluntly. Aila's blush deepened, but she laughed anyway.

"You don't look bad yourself, kid." Teddie was wearing the same outfit he usually did when in his human form-the ruffled white shirt with slick black pants-only today the usual red flower in his shirt was exchanged with a bloomed daffodil to match his date. "Besides…aren't you the one who told me to I had to dress up for this date?" Teddie grinned.

"And I'm bear-y glad you did!"

Aila shook her head with another smile and pulled her hands out of her hair.

"So…where are we going?"

…

A the Inaba Carnival, Teddie ran rampant through the streets. Yosuke had let the bear borrow his credit card for the date…and Teddie was taking full advantage of its large limit. He was buying him and Aila both snacks and ride tickets and countless chances at the booth games so they could win the biggest prizes. Aila felt that she should've said something to him about using Yosuke's money so freely, but Teddie was at a point that he was so abundant with fun that he wouldn't have listened anyway. He might as well have had her own headphones squashing down his blonde side-swept mess. So, shaking her head, she just followed him around the area to look at every booth and to ride every attraction.

The sun was slowly setting behind the horizon, creating a low, romantic glow on the carnival's food court tables. Yosuke and the group were sneaking by on their way to Junes, carrying duffle bags to conceal their chosen weapons. The boy happened to look to the side, where he saw Aila and Teddie sitting off to the side of the crowd in a private booth. Teddie was saying something with a grin while he wildly flailed his hands in the air. After a few moments, Aila started laughing so uncontrollably that tears started pricking out from the corners of her eyes.

"C'mon, Yosuke!" Chie hissed, pulling on his arm. Yosuke fought back a sigh and followed his friends to the massive family-ran building.

Teddie munched on some cotton candy while trying to balance a massive pink rabbit stuffed animal on his leg. Aila silently licked her ice cream as she observed other families and couples parading the streets. Without much warning, she turned on her companion with a serious stare.

"Teddie," she said softly. The bear-boy looked up at her. "Why did you bring me here? Why did you suddenly decide you wanted to go on a date with me?"

Teddie scratched the back of his head, releasing the ridiculous bunny to the punch and hot dog grease-soaked ground. "W-well, I…" Aila narrowed her eyes.

"Yosuke wanted you to," she concluded. "And Yuu and the others, too. You all want to keep me distracted so I won't go looking for Mina in the TV World." She stared at the remainder of her ice cream cone which dripped precariously onto their table.

Teddie couldn't deny it; she was half right, and he could do nothing but sit quietly in his chair.

"I understand, though," Aila muttered gently. Teddie made a small, surprised noise. Aila closed her eyes, giving her friend a small smile. "I've been a bit of a nuisance, haven't I? I almost got us killed the last time we fought the Shadows. You need to find out what's going on with the TV World without having to worry about getting in the way."

Teddie reached out a hand to hold hers, ignoring the dripping cream sliding onto his fingers.

"We just want to keep you safe, Aila." He explained. "We love you, and don't want you to get hurt again."

Aila flushed ever so slightly, then it became an expression of peace.

"Thank you, Teddie." The bear-boy gave her a grin.

"No problem! But you totally want to score with me now, right?"

Aila ignored the vein of annoyance popping out of her head. "No, Teddie."

"Then how about me, baby?"

A strange boy approached, dressed entirely in black leather. He had a bandana with blue skulls on it wrapped around his messy brown hair. His deathly pale skin indicated that he was a victim of some sort of substance abuse.

"Can I help you?" Aila asked him, annoyed.

"Don't look so angry, baby," he muttered. He took a seat beside her, turning the free-standing chair so that his chest was leaning against its back. "How about you and I go somewhere to have some…alone time?"

"No thank you."

"Hey, buddy," Teddie interjected, "leave the lady alone!" The boy turned to Teddie, giving him a dark glare.

"Who's this?" He asked Aila. "You're little bro?"

"Actually, he's my date." Aila pushed the guy's shoulder. "So get lost. I'm not interested."

"C'mon, baby." He grabbed her waist, yanking them both to their feet. "Don't be like that."

"Hey!" Teddie stood, too, heading over to the thug. "I said, leave the lady alone!" He got between the guy and Aila. She stared down at Teddie in surprise.

"Pfft…Outta my way, shortie."

"No! I won't let you touch Lady Aila!"

"Lady…?" Aila muttered. Teddie glanced back at her.

"That's what you're focused on right now?" They both repressed an oddly placed giggle.

The thug snapped his fingers and two more guys came from the shadows. They were almost clones of their leader, and snickered just like he did.

"I said move, shortie!" The thug said again. Teddie didn't budge and the thug grinned. "Fine." He started to turn to walk away, then flipped back around and punched Teddie's cheek. The boy-bear toppled over and the thug's lackeys picked him up and dragged him into an alley where they wouldn't be seen by the general public. They grinned wickedly as they held him still for their boss to continue pounding the blonde.

Suddenly, a click sounded behind them before they could inhale enough air to laugh some more.

"Get away from him," Aila muttered dangerously, revealing the gun she held slightly hidden behind her skirt. All three thugs looked absolutely frightened. "Leave now, or else."

"Hey baby," the leader began, "no need to pull-"

"One." Aila's counting made everyone freeze. She lifted the silver pistol to point at the leader's chest. "Two…" They made a mad dash for the crowds again, not even bothering to look back. Teddie stared up at her from the pavement he'd been dropped on. Aila's hair had become unkempt and was staring to fall out from her elegant 'do. She gave a shaky sigh and stuck the small gun back in the thigh holster hidden beneath her dress.

"Naoto let me borrow it for awhile," she briefly explained. "And she hasn't asked for it back yet. I wasn't really going to shoot them…I just wanted to scare them off…" She bent over her friend. "Are you okay, Teddie?"

"Yeah," he muttered sadly. He remained sprawled over the dirty gravel. Aila gently touched his cheek and he flinched.

"You've got a huge bruise forming," she informed him.

"I'm okay." Teddie sighed again. "But,…I should've been able to protect you, like Yosuke or Sensei would do. I'm just…such a useless bear!" They were both silent for a few moments, then Aila leaned down and moved Teddie's head into her lap. She titled it up with her fingers and softly kissed the bruise on his cheek. He gave a gasp.

"Teddie, you did your best to protect me," she assured him. "You were a 'bear-y' perfect prince. Thank you." They both laughed at her attempt to imitate him. Teddie recovered quickly, watching her with a sly glint in his eyes.

"Does this bear-y special prince get a bear-y special kiss?"

Aila laughed again, shaking her head. "Alright, bear." She leaned down again to set her lips over his. They were very warm, even though his body didn't generate any blood or body fat. His breath brushed over her skin, smelling of crystallized pink sugar. Teddie then made his move, putting a light hand behind her neck to bring her further into him. As he pressed his lips up to deepen the kiss, Aila felt her head start to spin. She quickly released herself from him, trying to cease her dizziness by breathing in fresh air. She and Teddie both had a light flush to their cheeks.

"Well," Aila muttered with a small smile. "That was new. I've never kissed a bear it a boy's body before." She didn't mention it aloud, but she'd also never kissed any form of a Shadow before, either,…in fact…

She came out of her thoughts as Teddie gained a prideful smirk.

"Best kiss ever, right?" He asked. Aila just chuckled. "Wanna go another round?"

She shoved the boy's head back onto the ground. "No thank you." She tried to act serious but a smile was playing onto her lips. Teddie convulsed into giggles, sitting up swiftly. Aila felt that she had to join in with him. Despite that the date had been set up for them, she'd had a wonderful time with the boy and couldn't think of a better place to be than with one of her closest friends.

... ...

Chapter 4 is up! Everyone is sew keewwtt!

I did a date with Teddie and Aila. Who would be a better distraction?

And yes, they kissed. Teddie is such a player. XD