The next day,Akasei took Ami and her sisters with her on a shopping trip to one of the biggest department stores in the area.

The Oh-gals had been to a department store before,but this was the first big one,and thus the whole time they were completely stunned by everything as Akasei lead them around.

Their first stop was where the clothing was. Ami loved all the bright colors,but Yushi and Gojei got bored quite quickly and began to play hide and seek behind everything they could find,even behind Akasei.

''What are you two doing?'' Akasei said,a bit annoyed.

''Playing,'' Yushi said.

''Not for very much longer,'' Akasei said, ''we're going over there.'' She pointed to the electronics area.

As Akasei looked at the various videos and such,the Oh-gals began to explore on their own.

Gojei watched some of the shoppers. ''Everyone's buying those video game systems these days,'' She said.

''Everybody?'' Asked Ami,who was listening to Christmas songs on one of the radios.

The three of them watched as a woman whom they recognized as one of the waitresses from Joko's hotel purchased a video game system.

''Uh-huh,everybody.'' Gojei said.

Later on the three of them were in the area where the books were. As Akasei read a magazine,Ami and her sisters looked at the kid's books. Ami was paticulary delighted by one book that was about a monkey and a man with a yellow hat. Yushi looked at one about a ''silly old bear,'' and Gojei just randomly picked up books,flipped through them quickly,and threw them on the floor.

When Akasei was done with her magazine,she saw the mess Gojei had made and was most appalled. ''Put those back where you found them,'' She said in a rather angry tone.

After Gojei was done doing that they headed towards the checkout,but on their way they passed by where the pet supplies were. The Oh-gals stopped,and so did Akasei. Other than pet supplies,they had actual pets for sale as well. Ami's eyes were fixed on a little puppy asleep in one of the cages. The puppy was white with black spots on all his feet as well as on the top of his head and on his back,like a sort of saddle. The corners of his ears were black,and so was the tip of his tail. His tail also had a little black dot on it. He was quite adorable.

Akasei walked off,and the Oh-gals followed her. Ami ran back for one last quick look at the puppy,then she returned to her mother and sisters.

They had just left the store and were walking back to the curb where their silver car was parked,which was about a block or two away. (The small parking lot of the store was too full) Akasei was carrying two large bags filled with the things she had bought,and when Ami looked around she saw that everyone else was as well. She paid no attention to them,as she was still thinking about that puppy and how badly she wanted it.

But then something else happened that was even more exciting than anything else she had seen that day. A man on the other side of the sidewalk suddenly stopped,his mouth hanging open. The other people stopped as well,and their eyes were as big as plates. This all caught Akasei's attention,and she stopped too. The Oh-gals did likewise,and so did just about everyone else on both sides of the sidewalk. Someone important was coming.

This important person passed close by all of them. Many of the people on the sidewalk began to bow. But others,especially the younger ones like Ami,were completely overcome,and stood there watching him in awe.

Either way,no one dared to breathe until he was out of sight. They all stared after him for a long while,then they walked on,talking exictedly about what they had seen. Akasei and the Oh-gals still stood there,however.

Ami stood close to Akasei,still stunned. ''Who was that?'' She asked Akasei in a nervous sort of voice.

''Who was that?'' Yushi repeated.

Akasei said solemnly, ''That was the Emperor.''

Nothing more was said,and they continued walking towards their car. As they did so,Ami could no longer think of the puppy. She could not think of anything but that majestic figure. She felt how small and insignifigant she was,and even Akasei seemed to have shrunk.

She was still silent on the drive home. Even those enormous buildings all around them seemed to have no signifigance at all. It had been an exciting but tiring day,and Ami soon fell asleep for the rest of the drive,using the bags as a pillow.

A/N: Nice,eh? Don't worry,Ami will get that puppy soon enough,even though she's still so shocked right now.

Until next time,review me;flamers will be shot...survivors will be shot again. (hee hee)

----Shaddie-chan