Note: Hey guys! I'm back! I managed to get up another chappie because I was feeling like it. I think I did try a certain Shonen Jump style in this piece, although I think I did so poorly... Maybe I can make up for it with the next chappie... Oh... Never mind! Just read for yourself then.
Rose's POV:
"Well, Rose... I have been waiting for this... I mean, to tell you this," Blade blushed as he knelt before me.
We were at a more rockier area of the beach. I had decided to stride over there with Blade just before the day was over. Blade agreed, of course, considering his gentle personality.
"Yeah, go on..." I smiled, possibly enjoying that I was making him more nervous as I grinned.
I walked past him as I enjoyed the calm waves and breeze.
Blade stood up and walked after me. I couldn't help but throw a small smile at him as I seemingly tried to walk away from him.
"I was... uh," he muttered as I turned yet another direction.
"You were..." I continued, suddenly turning around as I walked, causing him to collide into my arms in an accidental hug.
His touch sent shivers down my spine. It just felt all so warm, protective, and... it was merely unexplainable.
"You were..?" I looked down at him with my most charming smile ever.
"Uhh... How do I say this," Blade muttered, shivering as I hugged him tighter.
I released him from my embrace and continued to walk down the rocky beach. It was all like a silent and perfect world. I let out a small laugh as I saw Blade stumbling as he tried to follow me.
"What's so funny?" he asked as he managed to walk beside me.
"Oh nothing," I grinned back at him, "It's just that... the fact of you being really shy with me right now... I think it's kinda... funny..."
"O-oh, uh..." he uncomfortably stuttered.
"Just spit it out, Blade..." I smiled, "You know you wanna say it..."
Blade looked at the ground as if it became the most interesting thing to him. I could see his face turn an unusual shade of red. I rolled my eyes... Interesting... A sharp and disciplined Blade like him... Now at his knees...
I give him a gentle pat on the back, immediately catching his attention. I noticed his face growing redder as I did so. I pushed up his chin a bit with my finger, so that we were now seeing eye to eye.
"C'mon... say it! A woman like me isn't gonna always be here, y'know..." I teased, knowing greatly what Blade was trying to tell me... And I did intend to make this is hard and embarrassing for him as possible.
"Er... Um... Here goes..." Blade gulped, but when he spoke, his voice seemed distant, "Wake up, Rose!"
My eyes widened.
"Huh?" I lamely responded, that line putting me off.
"Wake up now, Rose... The others will be worried... And... uh... can I have my arm back?" Bkade responded again, his voice becoming louder and clearer.
My eyes quickly opened. The first sight I saw was Blade's face, straight in front of my face.
"B-Blade?" I stammered.
"U-uh.. Yeah? Can you let go of my arm now?" Blade shyly tugged, and I noticed that my arms were wrapped around his left arm.
"Oh... uh... Sorry..." I blushed as I took away my arms from his.
"You were having an odd dream, we're you?" Blade asked.
"Huh?" I retorted, "What makes you say that?"
"Well, for starters," he blushed, "You kept on calling out to someone in your sleep, demanding that he speaks or something... Another thing, was that you suddenly turned and embraced my arm... Up until morning..."
I began to blush. My memory seemed to come back now. I remembered that yesterday, after training, Blade and I were quite tired, that we fell asleep on the spot at the beach.
"Oh... Nobody came to pick us up and drag us back home?" I asked, changing the topic.
"Nope," he replied, a small blush still showing on his face...
"Okay," I shyly responded, "Let's get home then... And can you please keep quiet about last night..? I was having an odd dream..."
"Err... Okay," he reluctantly nodded.
We slowly walked through Treasure Town as we headed back to Blaze's place. It was awfully quiet as it was still early up in the morning. Blade seemed to be silent as we walked, so I decided to break the silence.
"So... How are you today?" I quipped, trying to make small talk.
"Err... I'm... fine? Why are you suddenly asking?" Blade responded.
"Well," I uncomfortably replied, "Uh... I was concerned... about you... Considering the beating I gave you yesterday..."
"Oh, I see..." he suddenly smiled, "By the way, Rose... You were awesome yesterday... I'm... impressed."
"Ahaha!" I nervously laughed, "Er... right..."
"However," he continued, "You sorta cheated... when you caught me off-guard..."
"Well, that is my forte, ain't it?" I smiled back at him, "And I didn't even need to worry about any Destiny Knot if I did that..."
We stopped talking when we saw that the door of Blaze's place was left open. Considering how Blaze is, he wouldn't ever carelessly leave doors open.
We immediately scurried in the doorway, investigating if anything had happened.
"Blaze?" Blade yelled, trying to find his friend.
However, no sound replied. Blaze, Sandra, or anyone else... They seemed to be absent. Soon, my eyes spotted a small sheet of paper pinned to the back of the door. I immediately ripped of the sheet from the door and read it aloud.
Dear Mysterious Thief Rose,
We have your allies with us. Do not worry, for they aren't harmed in any sort of way... Except maybe unconscious... Still, we promise that they are still in good condition.
If you want to see them again. Bring that idiotic Gallade with you and meet us in the Sharpedo Bluff at noon. Make sure you are not being followed by anyone else, be it cops or normal explorers. Failure to comply may result in consequences for your... "friends".
Signed, Your Competitor
"What was that just now, Rose?" Blade turned around.
"Blade, this is serious," I showed him the note, "I found this tacked behind the door..."
"This... This is a blackmail letter?" Blade's eyes widened, "Hmm... It doesn't specifically say who it's from... It only says it's from your competitor... Do you have a lot of enemies?"
"No... Not necessarily," I scratched my chin, "I honestly don't know anyone who would hate me to this degree."
"Hmm... So what do we do then?" Blade put an arm on my shoulder.
"We have no other choice... We go... to Sharpedo Bluff," I answered.
"But," Blade pulled me so that we could see eye-to-eye, "It might be dangerous! We don't know who you're up against..."
"Relax, Mr. Knight..." I calmly replied, "The letter does say that you should come too... So I think I'll be fine with you around... Unless your confidence has slipped after being beaten by me..."
"You..." he glowered, "Fine... Let's go then."
The temperature seemed to rise as we sat behind some bushes in Sharpedo Bluff. Although empty now, the Sharpedo Bluff was said to house two legendary explorers who supposedly saved the world from ruin before. Many had simply said that they went out on a new challenge, never returning since they had left.
"Oww, I think you're sitting on my foot," Bkade whispered.
"No, I'm not!" I whispered back, hoping that he would get the message that I wanted to keep us silent, it was almost noon.
"Fine then... At least let me move a little," he whispered back as I felt his leg move a bit, accidentally kicking me.
"I think I hit something..." he muttered.
"That was my hip, you pathetic-" I stopped talking, I began to hear something else. Blade seemed to have sensed so too and remained silent.
I peeked out the bush and saw three silhouettes. They surveyed the area as they walked around.
"Hmm... Are you sure that Gardevoir would come? I mean, she's much more smarter than that, y'know..." a feminine voice asked.
"Of course she will... She has to!" a familiar voice desperately said in reply.
"Well, I don't see no Gardevoir... And I don't see her boyfriend too..." a second voice, a more masculine one, pointed out.
"Thanks for pointing that out, Captain Obvious!" the familiar voice sarcastically replied.
I squirmed in the bush as I tried to see who my mysterious blackmailers were. It was hard to get a good view as the bush was obstructing my view.
I turned around to try and get a better view, as I saw greenish tints of my blackmailer... All I needed to do was push myself at a more favorable angle at the right side.
I pushed my body sideways by kicking my foot to some tough stem in the middle of the thick and suffocating bush... Or at least what I thought was the stem.
As I did so, I heard a small yelp coming from Blade. I froze, hoping that my blackmailers didn't hear that. I took a small peek out the bushes. The three began to approach the bushes we were hiding in.
"I thought I heard something..." the familiar voice mused.
I looked up and gasped. The three of them... My blackmailers were no other than... Ruse, accompanied by a Mismagius and Staraptor.
In surprise, I tried to silently squirm back to Blade.
Blade seemed pale as he silently complained,"Ow, I think you kicked my-"
"It's Ruse, Blade..." I silently whispered, "She's back... She brought company too..."
"Ruse?" Blade whispered back, "You mean the Ruse we fought back then? The other Gardevoir? That Ruse?"
"What about me?" a third voice chimed in.
Blade and I froze. We turned around to see Ruse glaring at us from behind the bushes.
"Crud!" I cursed, "She found us!"
I immediately struck with a hard Thunderbolt.
Ruse seemed to be caught off-guard, as she seemed stunned. But a Staraptor flew before her and took the blow for her.
I pulled Blade away as I dashed out into the clearing. Before we could make our escape, a Mismagius blocked our only path of escape.
"Where're you going?" she asked as she fired off a Shadow Ball.
Blade and I ran off in opposite directions to dodge the attack. When the explosion of the attack cleared, I remained where I stood, fooling the Mismagius into attacking once more.
"Foolish!" she cackled as she readied a Shadow Ball.
"Yeah, you're foolish indeed!" Blade muttered as he Night Slashed her from behind, knocking her out.
"We have to get out of here!" I warned Blade as we ran as fast as our legs could carry us.
"Stop!" Ruse hissed as she teleported before us, blocking our path a third time.
"What do you want this time?" I growled, stepping before Blade.
"An explanation," she glared back at me, her eyes having a look of anger in them.
My glare softened, "An explanation? What?"
"Rose!" she growled as she charged into battle with me.
"Why," she began charging up a Shadow Ball, "have your criminal actions decreased?"
She fired the Shadow Ball.
"It's none of your business!" I snarled, sidestepping the attack while launching a Thunderbolt directly at her.
"Yes it is!" she hissed as she teleported behind me.
I smacked her away with Thief.
"How so?" I retorted as I wiped off some sweat from my face.
"Well," she shot out a Shadow Ball, "I am also a thief! Therefore it concerns me!"
I took the Shadow Ball, being heavily damaged with that attack. I was nicked away onto the ground,
Ruse slowly walked up to me, looking down on me as she stepped before me. She raised one of her hands as she was prepared to strike with another Shadow Ball.
"I just didn't find anything to gain with this thievery stuff anymore!" I growled at her, closing my eyes.
"What?" her eyes opened wider as she dissipated the Shadow Ball she was preparing, "You just... quit?"
"When you put it that way-" I tried to explain, but she grabbed my throat and lifted me up.
"You fool! I... I wanted to beat you! At your own game!" she manically screamed, "Yet you quit? How could this be? Could all the time I've spent on trying to overthrow the Queen of Thieves be a waste?"
She angrily tightened her grip as she readied a Shadow Ball.
"Drop her!" Blade growled as he sliced her with Night Slash.
She winced and dropped me...
"Y-you..." she snarled, "I've always... looked up to you, Rose... And you do this now?"
"Looked up? How come you've been slandering my name?" I spat in disgust.
"I wanted to surpass you!" Ruse growled, a deep loathing present in her eyes.
"What was it that made you quit? Was it... him?" she growled angrily as she hurled a Shadow Ball towards Blade.
Blade dodged the attack, he jumped sideways and landed at the bushes.
I struck her hard with Thunderbolt again, bringing her down.
Looking down at her, I glared at her in disgust.
"Finish me off!" she spat, "My only purpose is ruined..."
"No," I returned, "Where are my friends?"
She looked back at me in confusion.
"It doesn't matter now! My life... I always wanted to achieve something! Now the world is ending, and you've ruined my purpose! I'd rather ruin your life if it's the last thing I do..." she stopped speaking, only to allow her face to be replaced with a maniacal grin, "Unless... I take this new... obsession you have for myself!"
I stared back at her.
"You know about the incident?" I barked.
"Yes!" she scowled, "I didn't believe that stupid bunch of beeswax first, but some dream... That dream scarred me! I know... this is my last chance to achieve something!"
I grew interested in what she said.
"A dream? Tell me more!" I edged closer.
"Some pink thing showed me the whole story... It was... The dream... It was so real... It was... devastating!" she screamed, her eyes seeming disturbed.
"She appeared before you too?" I spat in disgust, looking at Ruse's fallen figure.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
I reluctantly explained to her the whole story. I kept a stern and neutral voice to warn her that I wasn't going to stand for anything if she tried anything funny while I was talking.
After I had stopped speaking, there was a short silence.
Ruse fell to her knees.
"Rose! If that's the case... I'm sorry for being a hindrance," she retorted, although keeping her voice at a stern tone, "Just this once, I'll lower my pride... I want to live... I want to continue thriving... For that reason, I will lower my pride and walk under you!"
I hesitated... She still seemed suspicious. I could sense that she was hiding something.
"Fine then," I finally replied, "Return my friends first, then we talk."
I could tell that Blade seemed disturbed with my answer, yet he did not say anything.
"So be it," she returned with a grin, "Follow us then."
With nothing else to do, I decided to take a gamble and follow her, thinking to myself... Would I fall for the same trick? Or would this be a step forward in learning to trust?
Note: Well? How was it? I did try to put more tension between Blade and Rose, but I hope Ruse trying to join them isn't so bad... Oh well, please tell me what you think in the reviews... It's bound to help a lot... Ah well, 'till next time then! Bye~