a/n: Roo puts the "roo" in "rooses".

All the good things belong to Monolith Soft, and they let me build my Cross Roo.

Roo (8 roses)

Continuing down the Division Drive, Roo felt pretty chipper. Sara-Ariel had all but promised him a spot on the next squad going up against the famous Oblivian tyrant, Gradivus, the Obscenely High Healthed. Not just the next squad, but the next squad with a prayer of success. Lin had offered to feed him some dinner tonight if he didn't mind hanging with Tatsu, and Tatsu had offered to let him beta a new gaming app if he didn't mind hanging with Lin. Roo wasn't sure what he was going to do with the flowers, but that would sort itself out, he figured. He shook his head slightly.

That reminded him of yet another thing, and a bright smile lit up his face. He even had a new hairdo. Today's mission had involved a whole lot of waiting while a Nopon merchant counted and recounted the delivery. Out of sheer boredom, the BLADE stationed at the caravan had started fussing with Roo's hair. End result was a fabulous tangle of interwoven plaits, not quite a net, not quite a French braid, now swinging gently around his ears. He reached a hand up to pat the unfamiliar structures. The braids wouldn't last long, he knew. He'd be back to his regular ponytail by Friday at the latest, but for now, it was pretty fun. Only trouble was Maisie had dropped the hibiscus he usually wore, and a nopopotmus had promptly eaten it. He felt a little naked, or at lease lopsided, without it.

The roses! Of course. He'd put them in his hair. At least one today, maybe another tomorrow. No sense in waiting. He stopped in the middle of the drive and fumbled simultaneously with the bundle, a single rose, and his hair.

"What are you doing, Roo?" inquired a nearby BLADE.

"Hey, Mathias, hold these a sec. Thanks." Roo shoved the remaining flowers into the Curator's hands. With a snap of the stem, he had a shortened rose that he could slide into the crown of his hair. "How's it look?"

Mathias was ignoring Roo's do. Instead, his blond head was bent over the flowers. The younger Curator was examining the roses with growing excitement, bending their leaves slightly, poking at the petals. "Yes ... yes! You know, I think these might just do the trick!"

"You're teaching roses to do tricks?" Roo smiled cheerfully at his fellow BLADE.

"Roo, you gotta let me have them," Mathias pleaded earnestly. "They're just what I need."

"They're all yours, pal. So long as I get to keep this one." Roo patted his hair to assure himself that the original rose was staying in place.

"Thanks a bunch. If this turns out the way I hope it does, I'll put you in the credits of the paper. Well, the footnotes at least."

a/n: It's my boy Roo! Yeah! If you scout him now (dual guns, long sword, 60, EBD trash), he'll be heart glasses for Valentine's Day, because the game doesn't have roses, except in my miiiiiiiiiiiiind.

Next up: Mathias.