A/N: And now for something completely different, it's been a while-- have an insta-update c:!

But don't go expecting these from me, now. I only have enough planned out for MAYBE two chapters. But am getting an idea for either a sequel or maybe I'll just stretch this one out past getting them together, even though that was the initial plan. What do you think? I'll put a poll up about it. Please vote!

Originally, I was going to have Kaoru all calm and his crush flustered, but due to certain circumstances you might not know about yet, I think this is more fitting c:! Enjoy if you can~

Also.... I'm... sorry about Atoli ;-;... It had to happen. I really felt while writing in my Kaoru-mindset that it would happen... With her story she reminds me of one of my buddies ;-;...

Waste Some Time
Chapter Six
The Troubles of a Rose and Its Bud

The clock seemed to move quickly when he had nothing to look forward to. Here he was, buddy-less after his work day was over, and it seemed like no time at all til he looked up and saw the mass of bodies crowding into a line before him. All high school students.

He hadn't even taken a break yet!

He smiled charmingly to the patrons, taking their orders and filling them as effectively as he could. He found that the pack of girls from the day before had grown, three or four more than the previous day showed up, all giggles and grins and (unless he was dense) flirts. He helped them and tried not to think about the high schooler who'd messed with his inner rhythm.

He'd decided as he lay on the futon he'd bought with his first paycheck, trying to fall asleep, that the butterflies were reserved for Ryou. Nobody else had the right to invoke them, especially not without speaking. That was just excessive.

And when he looked up there he was. Think of the devil or something like that. He looked at him only long enough to get his order (another daily special) and frowned as he spun around to fill it. There were those traitorous butterflies. If he didn't have that pesky gene that forced him to be civil to everybody, he'd ignore the kid just for his pretty face. Oh, and he'd get fired.

He filled the cup without a near-incident this time, pouring in some warm chocolate drops and adding a few spoonfuls of sugar. He took a spoonful of the white liquid-- liquid marshmallows! That's what they were; he had to taste them to believe it, but it was the truth—and drizzled it on a warm chocolate chip cookie, setting it in the foamy whipped cream and looking over his work. He threw in a drizzle of chocolate syrup, too. Who didn't love that stuff?

He smiled down to it, turning to deliver it and nearly dropping it as he laid eyes on the boy again. He'd been watching him, a cute little smile quirking at his lips, his face more of its natural bronzy color today, only a light pink dusting his cheeks. He checked himself, carefully setting the cup down on the counter and sliding it toward him, suddenly brilliantly aware of how shaky his hands were and not wanting to spill his masterpiece (which, really, all the coffees they made here were) or gratify the butterflies for the problem they'd nearly created. He felt his face heat up as the boy looked at him expectantly, still smiling just enough to fuel the flames heating him up.

"Ah-! That'll be 800¥…" he caught on quickly enough, getting even more flustered when a few of the people behind the boy craned their necks around to see what was going on.

The money was handed over more gracefully this time and he practically threw it into the register before calling back to his coworker that he'd be taking his break. The college student whined pathetically as he came out from the back room, shooting a half-hearted glare at him before Kaoru made a bee-line for the door.

To his dismay he saw that head of brown hair through the window, sitting at one of the outdoor tables. He glanced around in hopes that against odds there might be a free table inside before conceding to the fact and stepping outside with a sigh. He decidedly did not look to the student. He kept his eye skyward and he couldn't help the miniscule smile that tugged at his lips as he surveyed the soft blue canvas overhead.

He leaned back against the outside wall, eyes darting from cloud to jet line to horizon to brunette to—he froze up when he saw those mahogany eyes turn down to the table, dark lashes hiding them from view. He barely resisted the urge to swat at his stomach in hopes of stilling that obnoxious fluttering.

When the boy looked up at him from under those lashes, he found his mouth suddenly dry and momentarily thought of asking him if he could have a drink of that coffee before blushing madly at the audacity of those butterflies to inspire such a thought.

He was far too thankful for the distraction when he saw one of the girls he'd served earlier standing up a few tables away. It was the one who'd snuck a picture of him, he noticed. She waved him over, smiles and giggles flittering from the other girls at the table.

He spent the remainder of his break surrounded by estrogen, laughter and light 'accidental' touches on the arm. One of the girls had talked him into letting her run her fingers through his hair; another had gone off on a rant about 'how come none of the boys at her school were so cute?' and yet another was asking him what school he went to. When he told them his age, there was a general uproar at the table that shocked him into silence before he got the 'three' out.

"There's no way you're twenty! My brother's twenty-six and he doesn't look my age!"

"No, I've heard of this. He must have the 'young' gene!" silence fell around the table at this and they all paid rapt attention to the speaker. "There are people that look like teenagers until they're just about thirty! No, really!"

"Yeah, they're called vampires, Kiyomi!"

"Haa~ Are you a vampire, Kaoru-chan?" giggles floated up at the suggestion. For a moment he wondered how they knew his name, until he remembered the name tag at his chest.

"He sure is pale enough!" and suddenly the girls were comparing tans to his bare arms and wondering how he kept his hair so well cared for when it was dyed. ("Natural?" they'd screamed when he told them.)

And suddenly his coworker was tapping at his shoulder.

He stood to leave, apologizing to the girls. They whined and practically begged for hugs and numbers, but he was walking away before they could force him into it. He heard his coworker sit in his place and heard the shouts of disapproval.

As he walked past the boy to resume his job, he noticed the look on his face. And wow was it a look! It was somewhere between miffed and worried. He must have gotten a call, because by the time Kaoru was back behind the counter, he was gone.

.....

The next day went by quickly as well; just another day with nothing but nothing to look forward to. He found his break early, however. At around lunchtime the girls had come in and demanded he join them again.

During this enlightening session of giggles and chatter and banter he found that one of the girls had a crush on him, one was going to be writing an article for the school paper on Coffee: Where to get the Best and the Gentle Hands That Make It!, and one of them was going to be modeling shoes in a billboard. He was only allowed back to work when they'd made him promise to keep an eye out for it and guaranteed them an interview.

He feared he would never understand the teenage female mind. Then again, with how his 'lovelife' (or at least his crushes) was panning out, there would definitely not be a serious problem in that department.

As if on cue, right at 3:40 the boy waltzed in again, drenched and looking hassled. Kaoru turned his eyes wistfully to the window only to see the rain. He frowned. This time, with no other orders to distract him (apparently coffee wasn't in demand when it was raining) he remembered his manners.

"Welcome," he greeted with a shallow bow over the counter. "What can I get for you today?" he questioned, fairly certain he knew what the boy's order would be.

The pointed look he received more than gave him his answer, but he still told him, "A daily special."

He set to work, filling it mostly with their house brew and pouring in something with vanilla, a vanilla, some liquid caramel and topping it with whipped cream and a vanilla wafer neatly on top. He smiled happily down at his work. This was becoming second nature to him. He'd have to find a job like this in Kanagawa prefecture when he returned.

He handed it over with only the slightest blush, no fear of dropping it this time. He didn't make eye contact a second time. "That will be 800¥." It was handed over and that was the end of their transaction. He grinned to himself in victory over the butterflies, proud of himself for beating down the burgeoning crush.

When his shift was over (for it came without serious incident today), he stood in the doorway, looking forlornly out into the grey sky. It was still pretty, but he was bound to miss the beauty and depth of the blue he so used to love.

The voice that broke him of his trance shocked him so bad he nearly hit his head on the doorframe, "You should stay until the rain stops." It was his mystery boy.

"Ah-! I only live across the street. It's nothing to get home from here. I just wish the sky wasn't so clouded," he said, returning his eyes to it.

He froze up when the student spoke again. "Still." He looked around to face him again, this time catching sight of a slight blush on his cheeks, seeing his focus entirely on him. "You should stay," he repeated.

Kaoru felt his face heat up as he let the door swing closed, hesitant to move. He saw the boy's eyes dart to the chair opposite him and he head as foot met chair and it moved out a little with a harsh squeak.

He took a seat and they started talking.

.....

It was when Kaoru got home after his chat with the boy (Misaki, he'd introduced himself as.) that he realized he had yet to test out his brand-spanking new blade. This had to be remedied immediately.

He was giddy as he put the headset on. He called forth his blade immediately just to admire it, moving toward the chaos gate absently. He sent it away as he started contemplating what level monsters would be best to test it on. Obviously nothing too high, since he was alone, but…

"Endrance!" he heard from somewhere behind him, half-expecting it to be Bo (Saku would never call him by his full character name. Just 'Master En!').

Atoli smiled kindly at him as she came to a halt beside him. "Atoli. It's been a while. How are you?" he asked pleasantly, though he was really in no mood to talk. He had a Thorn at his side and boy was he ready to get it out, to stick it in something else's side and see the effect it had. A smile came unbidden to his lips at the thought.

She grinned back at him, obviously thinking it was intended for her. "I'm doing well, thank you. I was wondering if you might want to level with me for a bit. I specialize in white magic; I can't go anywhere that would give me decent experience alone."

His smile only widened. He could show off in the process of testing it out! "Certainly. With you there I can go to a higher level area as well. Let's stock up on potions and head out." He instructed, forming the party and sending an invite. She accepted instantly.

He decided on a field right at their level as opposed to three or four above as he and Haseo usually took on. As they ported he felt his excitement mounting.

As soon as they landed, they looked around to be sure if they had shown up in a battle area, but they lucked out this time. The sounds of fighting they heard so nearby were another battle area. From within the semi-transparent ring he made out a would-be PKer following a Black Mage around. He looked to Atoli who nodded immediately before running toward it. As they approached the girl started pleading for help.

Once inside, the Blade Brandier called forth his new Thorn, admiring it for a second before setting out to attack the scantily clad Tribal Grappler. He swung the sword and it sent a shock wave toward the woman, stunning her character and leaving her wide open to attack. Atoli's chant of Repth for the one they'd saved lit up the background as he took to slashing and hacking and whipping his new sword around.

He was delighted with the way it was working. Typically with a long sword like this it took a few points under a second for the next swing. But this beauty sent one right after another. If CCcorp was off developing blades like this, he was absolutely looking forward to whatever they were up to.

When it came time for a finisher, he hit the button. Endrance kicked out at the offender, sending her sprawling. He spun his sword in his hand, lifting it up into the air for a moment until a grayish light began swirling around it, and thrust it directly down into his prey as she started standing again with another shock wave that stunned the other two characters in the area with him.

He gaped at the beautiful sword in his hand as the wrappings fell back into place. The battle area fell around them, leaving them open to the rest of the field.

"Th-thank you, Master Endrance!" the Black Mage exclaimed, gifting him 5 healing potions and a fairly low-level armor.

As she vanished in the warp rings, he vaguely wonder how long after he lost the title of 'Emperor' they would stop referring to him as 'Master'. Three years wasn't nearly enough, no.

As he finally turned to address the White Mage in his party, he saw the look she cast over his weapon and suddenly wanted to guard it from her. "That is an amazing sword, Endrance!" she shouted, looking so earnestly interested in it that he couldn't begrudge her the opportunity to look at it. He outstretched his hand, turning the blade over, swiping it at thin air when she asked about the bindings.

Her grin didn't falter at all when he put it away. "Isn't that one of the newer one they released last weekend?" she questioned eagerly. He nodded. "I'm amazed you got it. Haseo hasn't been on since Monday so you must have gotten it the day after it came out. I've heard it's a low chance item! I don't think anybody else has even gotten to the last level of those dungeons.

Suddenly he was even more impressed at his feat.

They took off through the field, slicing and chanting down enemies, every so often talking about his new blade and the other new items and their rarity. He was so distracted by all this that until they entered the temple, he'd nearly forgotten why he had so disliked her for so long.

Then she had to open her mouth and remind him after doing so well.

"So, Endrance… I was wondering something. How have things been with Haseo since you got back on?" she asked, doing well to make it sound as if it were a wandering thought that just-so-happened to cross he mind. Suddenly he felt possessive of his Adept Rogue.

"We've been fine," he said pointedly, his voice remaining light despite his sudden change in mood.

"It seems like it." And with that she was quiet for a time again, though it was clear the second after her mouth shut that the conversation hadn't even started yet.

He enjoyed the quiet while he could, taking out the room with her sporadic healing and the little help she did DPS-wise (A/N: Nerd alert! DPS= Damage Per Second). At the end of the level, right after they'd gone down the staircase, she spoke up again. "I've been wondering… Are you and he… together?" she asked then. He rolled his eyes while his back was to her, but kept his voice normal as he gave back an innocent answer despite his sudden urge to tell her to back off. He felt jealousy coiling in his stomach.

"We're together all the time, aren't we?" he said conversationally.

"Yes. All the time. It's a wonder he has time for the rest of us. I'm jealous of you…" she admitted, looking down and halting in her steps as he turned to look at her in surprise.

"You are?" he asked dimly.

"Yes." She looked back up at him again with a sad smile. "I've been trying to get him to help me level… to spend some time together…" her smile turned sheepish and he nearly glared at her if it weren't for his curiosity in what she had to say. "But… since you got back he's been completely blowing me off. He says that there's no room for another player in your groups…" she looked up at him again, searching.

He frowned lightly. Now that he thought about it they'd only ever had Saku in their group since he got back, and even she was only invited twice, and by him. Of course Haseo hadn't been too thrilled, what with their history of fighting, but he hadn't thought more of it. He felt the jealousy melt away, his entire body suddenly feeling light and springy. Had he been telling everybody else no so they could spend time alone together? He felt his stomach flutter again, this time welcomed.

"There is room in your party… isn't there?" she asked dryly, smiling sadly again. Suddenly he again wondered why he'd ever disliked her. She'd always been in the same boat as him, unrequited feelings for the guild leader, just trying to get his attention somehow. And now he'd pretty much just told her that he'd been picked, at least in this battle. He preferred time with Kaoru. Now he felt nothing but pity and a great liking for her. She'd even rooted him on, if only to get Ryou back to normal.

"We're going to be running through the night field temples they announced would have the new weapons tomorrow…" he started, seeing her face light up a little. He gave her a small grin. "You should join us. Maybe we'll get lucky and find one of the staves? These things bind on contact, you know. He called forth his blade and weighed it in his hand. She looked grateful and humbled. She nodded, smiling brightly to him.

"That would be nice. Thank you, Endrance."

"It's… It's Kaoru."

"Kaoru-kun. My name is Chigusa…"

"Chigusa-chan? Nice to meet you."

She giggled. "Nice to meet you, too!"