Author Note: *Raises hands in surrender.* Put the pitchforks down. We can talk about this calmly...

OK, I kinda went on hiatus this summer due to a busy schedule. Now that things have calmed down a bit, I'll try to update more often. WAY more often!

Now that that's out of the way...ENJOY!

"Hurry up, Samie!" Prim called over her shoulder as we sprinted down the street. "Human speed isn't fast enough!" Even though I was a couple of inches taller than her and had longer legs, she had the endurance for long runs that I could only dream of.

I rolled my eyes in response and said, "Yeah, yeah. Why don't YOU slow down?" I was struggling to keep up by that point. I had no idea how she could run so fast on the sidewalk since I was more of a cross-country runner.

"Because I do not slow down," my older sister figure sighed. I then found myself being pulled along by my wrist.

"OI! Watch it!" I immediately started protesting. She, naturally, ignored me and continued to tow me along until we reached our destination: the candy store.

"Candy..." Prim pressed her face against the window eagerly. I, in the meantime, was trying to regain feeling in my wrist. "That sounds good," I agreed, slightly out of breath from our run.

"CANDY!" She tried to run inside through the door but bounced back. At first, I thought that she'd tried to enter through the wall instead of going through the door like a sane person.

That's when it dawned on me what my best friend ran into.

"Oi! Watch it!" She glared at the person she ran into, making me a little nervous. She only got that look in her eyes when she was ready to start a fight. I backed away slowly, slightly intimidated by this new person.

She wasn't amused...at all. "Move," she said, trying to push him out of the way, but he didn't budge. The person just smirked and pushed her out of the way easily. "YOU watch it, pipsqueak."

Prim stumbled a little, and I helped her regain her balance. "Are you OK?" I asked. My hand was in my pocket, clutching my Ranger Key. At least I came prepared, I thought to myself.

It didn't have to come to that, though. He just walked off.

Prim glared off in his direction, hand in her pocket as well. I knew she had a grip on her key as well. "Let's just go, neesan," I suggested, not wanting to see a temper flare. That was never fun for anyone in the general vicinity.

"Hm, I'm getting my candy." She strolled in like nothing was out of the ordinary. I shook my head slightly and followed her. Honestly, I couldn't stop thinking about what we just about did. Man, our lives were interesting.

"I can't believe we almost did that," I said quietly. "He didn't look like a person to mess with." I flashed back to my first ever fight.

"Yeah..." I could tell she remembered it, too. "Well, you know me. I always finish stuff."

I couldn't help but smile a little. "Yes, you do," I agreed. "You know I'm stepping in if he hurts you though, right?" Even though I was the younger one, it didn't stop me from being a little protective of her.

"Yeah, yeah." As we walked toward her house after checking out, she handed me a piece of chocolate and caramel candy, saying, "Now savor the caramel."

I rolled my eyes at her playfully and ate some. We got to her house without any confrontations, which was a bit of a miracle. Usually we would've had at least one skirmish with the Zangyack by now. We took this time to help ourselves to chocolate and wrestle a little. Half an hour or so later, I asked, "Shouldn't we work on sword fighting soon? We need to be ready if the Zangyack decide to drop by."

She nodded. "That would bite. You're the one who needs improvement with a sword."

"I'm working on it!" I said defensively, getting my training equipment. Swords were NOT my strength, and she knew that. Accuracy was more my speed.

"Well, I'm working on the gun, too," Prim said with a bit of a chuckle, getting her equipment. She was about as bad at guns as I was at swords, which was pretty horrible. On the other hand, she was a two-sword fighter.

We make the short jog to our training area, which was a clearing I'd found in woods once. It was quiet and secluded from the rest of society. Just perfect for us.

I rolled my eyes a little and tried to relax as we got into stance to work on our swordsmanship. I felt uncomfortable with a sword. I tried not to show it, but the memories it brought back...they weren't pleasant. I was trying hard to overcome it, though.

As always, she said, "First move's yours," while keeping a firm grip on her sword.

I took a deep breath and went in swinging. I tried to keep the injuries minor so it wouldn't haunt me for the rest of my life. She went a little easy on me, blocking about half of my shots and taking the rest to her back (her strongest muscle).

She ducked around one wild swing, knocking me off balance with her foot and using that time to disarm me. I looked for a way to retrieve it without being skewered, but Prim held me back by swordpoint. "Looks like I DO need improvement," I muttered under my breath.

"I heard that," my older sister figure stated. "You do. But keep on trying. It took me forever to master a one sword fighting style. You'll get it!"

I commented, "Thank goodness for guns." Although I was most comfortable with guns, I could tell that they were awkward for Prim. She was more keen on running in and chopping off heads. She didn't like hoping for a good shot from a distance. I, on the other hand, could handle two guns; it came naturally to me. "You know I like a safer distance from the enemy."

My first fight with a sword...it didn't end well.

"Well, I don't." She snorted slightly, taking her gun out. I did the same and nail a bull's eye from around 50 feet away. Prim muttered to herself, "Show off," and tried to imitate my shot.

Let's just say I had to dodge her bullet. She blushed slightly from pure embarassment.

I encouraged her anyway. "You'll get it! I used to suck at aim. Just start out closer to the target."

She stuck out her tongue and tried again. Epic fail. "I suck at guns." She threw it on the ground and tried to step on it in frustration, but I picked it up quickly.

"It takes practice just like anything else. Just be patient with it," I advised.

"I don't have this 'patience' you speak of," she sighed. "The gun's my blind side. I may never fully master it...but...that's why I have you." She smileed at me.

"Same here." I smiled back.

Prim then took her sword and my own in her grasp with a sly grin. "What do you say for a little one-on-one? Sword versus gun."

I took both of our guns, ready to try it out. "As long as we don't kill each other," I said, though.

"Well, that's always nice." She got into stance, saying as always, "First move's yours."